Skill

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Skill (disambiguation).
"Mastery" redirects here. For the book by Robert Greene, see Mastery (book). For the British
racehorse, see Mastery (horse).

The Pyramid / Hierarchy of Skills is similar to the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. [1]
A skill is the learned ability to carry out a task with pre-determined results often within a given
amount of time, energy, or both.[2] In other words, the abilities that one possesses. Skills can
often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. For example, in the domain of
work, some general skills would include time management, teamwork and leadership, selfmotivation and others, whereas domain-specific skills would be useful only for a certain job.
Skill usually requires certain environmental stimuli and situations to assess the level of skill
being shown and used.
People need a broad range of skills in order to contribute to a modern economy. A joint ASTD
and U.S. Department of Labor study showed that through technology, the workplace is changing,
and identified 16 basic skills that employees must have to be able to change with it.[3]

Contents

1 Labour skills
2 Life skills

3 People skills

4 Social skills

5 Soft skills

6 Hard skills

7 Mastering skills

8 See also

9 References

10 External links

Labour skills
Main article: Skill (labor)
Skilled workers have long had historical import (see Division of labor) as electricians, masons,
carpenters, blacksmiths, bakers, brewers, coopers, printers and other occupations that are
economically productive. Skilled workers were often politically active through their craft guilds.
[4]

Life skills
Main article: Life skills
Life skills are problem-solving behaviors that are used appropriately and responsibly in the
management of personal affairs. They are a set of human skills, acquired via learning (teaching)
or direct experience, that are used to handle problems and questions commonly encountered in
daily human life. The subject varies greatly depending on societal norms and community
expectations.

People skills
Main article: People skills
According to the Portland Business Journal, people skills are described as:[5]

understanding ourselves and moderating our responses

talking effectively and empathizing accurately

building relationships of trust, respect and productive interactions.

A British definition is the ability to communicate effectively with people in a friendly way,
especially in business.[6] The term is not listed yet in major US dictionaries.[7][8]
The term people skills is used to include both psychological skills and social skills, but is less
inclusive than life skills.

Social skills
Main article: Social skills

Social skill is any skill facilitating interaction and communication with others. Social rules and
relations are created, communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways. The process of
learning such skills is called socialization.

Soft skills
Main article: Soft skills
Soft skills is a sociological term relating to a person's "EQ" (Emotional Intelligence Quotient),
the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits,
friendliness, and optimism that characterize relationships with other people.[9] Soft skills
complement hard skills (part of a person's IQ), which are the occupational requirements of a job
and many other activities.

Hard skills
Hard skills are any skills relating to a specific task or situation. These skills are easily
quantifiable unlike soft skills which are related to one's personality.[10]

Mastering skills
Mastery pertains to perfecting a particular skill set. To reach mastery, authors Malcolm Gladwell
and Robert Greene claim that 10,000 hours of work will have to be put into training.[11]

See also

Communication skills
Deskilling

DISCO - European Dictionary of Skills and Competences

Dreyfus model of skill acquisition

Game of skill

Online skill-based game

Transferable skills analysis

Procedural knowledge

References
1.

 Kokcharov I. Skill Hierarchy Pyramid http://www.slideshare.net/igorkokcharov/kokcharovskillpyramid2015

Howland, J.L. (2013). Facts101: Textbook Key Facts. Contents Technologies Inc.".
Retrieved 2015-10-03.
ASTD and U.S. Department of Labor study -Retraining 50 Million Americans: The
Electronically Mediated Solution". Retrieved 2012-03-15.
Cowan, Ruth Schwartz (1997), A Social History of American Technology, New York:
Oxford University Press, p. 179, ISBN 0-19-504605-6
Rifkin, H. Invest in people skills to boost bottom line Retrieved on 2009-10-14
Macmillan Dictionary Retrieved on 2009-08-18
Dictionary.com definition. Retrieved on 2009-08-18
Encarta dictionary definition. Retrieved on 2009-08-18
Career Opportunities News, 2002
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hard-skills.asp
Robert Greene (American author)#Mastery