Business English Prof.

GHALMAT

21st Century skills are 12 abilities that today’s students need to succeed in their careers during the
Information Age. These skills are intended to help students keep up with the lightning-pace of today’s
modern markets. Each skill is unique in how it helps students, but they all have one quality in common.
They’re essential in the age of the Internet. Experts divide 21st century skills into three groups: Learning
Skills, Digital Literacy Skills, and Life Skills. These groups contain hard and soft skills that help
students adapt to the modern world’s changes and trends.

Learning Skills (The Four C’s)

The four C’s are by far the most popular 21st Century skills.
These skills are also called learning skills. More educators
know about these skills because they’re universal needs for
any career. They also vary in terms of importance,
depending on an individual’s career aspirations.
Critical thinking is the mechanism that weeds out problems and replaces with fruitful endeavours.
It’s what helps students figure things out for themselves when they don’t have a teacher at their
disposal. “It’s the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
Aristotle.
Creativity is equally important as a means of adaptation. The ability to change with the evolving
environment and find solutions that work in new realities. This skill empowers students to see concepts
in a different light, which leads to innovation. Learning creativity as a skill requires someone to
understand that “the way things have always been done” may have been best 10 years ago but, someday,
that has to change. In any field, innovation is key to the adaptability and overall success of a company
in a changing landscape. “If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old”, Peter
Drucker (2018)
Collaboration means getting students to work together, achieve compromises, and get the best
possible results from solving a problem. Collaboration may be the most difficult
concept in the four C’s, but once it is mastered, it can bring companies back
from the brink of bankruptcy. The key element of collaboration is willingness.
All participants have to be willing to sacrifice parts of their own ideas and adopt
others to get results for the company. “Talent wins games, but teamwork and
intelligence win championships”, Michael Jordan. Collaboration promotes
diversity and inclusivity, as it brings together people from different backgrounds
and experiences. By fostering collaboration, individuals and organizations can
harness the power of collective intelligence and achieve greater success.
Finally, communication is the glue that brings all of these educational qualities together. It is crucial
for students to learn how to effectively convey ideas among different personality types. That has the
potential to eliminate confusion in a workplace, which makes your students valuable parts of their teams,
departments, and companies. Without understanding proper communication, students in the 21st century
will lack a pivotal skill to progress their careers. “Communication works for those who work at it”, John
Powell.

Digital & Information Literacy Skills (IMT)

There’s no doubt that social media and technology have become an important part of almost every aspect
of modern life. This set of skills is a must for people to create and share digital information. The top
three 21st century literacy competencies are:
Information Literacy means finding, evaluating, organizing, and using information in its various
formats efficiently. It also enables a person to differentiate facts from fiction. It is knowing when and
why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical
manner. It is crucial that students can determine facts from fallacies on their own; otherwise, they will
fall prey to myths, misconceptions and outright lies. “Do not believe all that you hear and see. Always
check the original source of information”, Lailah Gifty Akita.
 Media Literacy is the practice of identifying publishing methods, outlets, and
sources while distinguishing between the ones that are credible and the ones
that are not. This is how students find trustworthy sources of information in
their lives. Without it, anything that looks credible becomes credible. “A
holistic approach to media literacy is demanded to enhance critical thinking
abilities to consume information, counter misleading or false narratives, and
further comprehend the associated issues with the technology such as bias,
privacy, and security”. Alireza Salehi Nejad, (2020).

Last, Technology Literacy gives students the basic information they need to understand what gadgets
perform what tasks and why. It unveils the high-powered tools that run today’s world. As a result,
students can adapt to the world more effectively. They can play an important role in its evolution.
AASL National School Library Standards defines Technology Literacy as the “ability to responsibly use
appropriate technology to communicate, solve problems, and access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and
create information to improve learning in all subject areas and to acquire lifelong knowledge and skills.”
Life Skills (FLIPS)
Life skills are essentially those abilities that help promote mental well-
being and competence in young people as they face the realities of life.
They allow people to find new ways of thinking and problem-solving and
develop greater self-awareness. These skills are as necessary to navigating
the relationships and day-to-day decisions that determine success in a
family as they are at school, on the job, and within a community. Besides,
employers consider life skills just as necessary as academic performance,
making these competencies a great advantage when applying for a job.
Flexibility is the expression of someone’s ability to adapt to changing
circumstances. This is one of the most challenging qualities to learn for students because it’s based on
two uncomfortable ideas: 1) your way isn’t always the best way; 2) you have to know and admit when
you’re wrong. Flexibility requires them to show humility and accept that they’ll always have a lot to
learn — even when they’re experienced. Still, flexibility is crucial to a student’s long-term success in a
career. Knowing when to change, how to change, and how to react to change is a skill that’ll pay
dividends for someone’s entire life. “Survival is for those who are flexible; they are smart enough to
adapt and they never give up.” Norina Luciano
Leadership is someone’s penchant for setting goals, walking a team
through the steps required, and achieving those goals collaboratively.
True success also requires initiative, requiring students to be self-
starters. Effective leaders listen, guide, and motivate others to use
change as a positive force to explore innovation and inspire action.
They are the heart of inventive, meaningful, and sustainable change in
education and business. “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the
way and shows the way." - John C. Maxwell
Productivity refers to student’s ability to complete work in an appropriate amount of time. In business
terms, it’s called “efficiency.” That is getting more done in less time. By understanding productivity
strategies at every level, students discover the ways in which they work best while gaining an
appreciation for how others work as well. That equips them with the practical means to carry out the
ideas they determine through flexibility, leadership, and initiative.

Social skills are the skills we use every day to interact and communicate with others. They include
verbal and non-verbal communication, such as speech, gesture, facial expression and body language.
Business is frequently done through the connections one person makes with others around them
(emotional intelligence). Etiquette, manners, politeness, and small talk still play major roles in today’s
world. Developing social skills is about being aware of how we communicate with others, the messages
we send and how methods of communication can be improved to make the way we communicate more
efficient and effective.

Adapted from: https://www.mentorcrafts.com/21stcenturyskills/

Adapted from : https://scstemacademy.org/what-are-21st-century-skills/