Skill

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Ability to carry out a task

title: "Skill" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["skills", "learning", "knowledge"] description: "Ability to carry out a task" topic_path: "technology/computing" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skill" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Ability to carry out a task ::

A skill is the learned or innate |last1 = Barker |first1 = Philip |editor-last1 = Barker |editor-first1 = Philip |editor-last2 = van Schaik |editor-first2 = Paul |date = 29 April 2016 |orig-date = 2010 |chapter = Introduction |title = Electronic Performance Support: Using Digital Technology to Enhance Human Ability |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=emEWDAAAQBAJ |series = A Gower Book |edition = reprint |publication-place = London |publisher = CRC Press |page = 15 |isbn = 9781317145219 |access-date = 26 November 2024 |quote = The skills that any given individual has can be classified into two basic types: innate and acquired. An innate skill is one which someone possesses as a natural consequence of his/her existence. Examples of innate skills include: the ability to observe one's environment using visual techniques; the recognition of pleasant and unpleasant aromas using one's sense of smell, the sensing of different acoustic stimuli; tactile sensing; and the generation of sonic utterances of various sorts. ability to act with determined results and good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Compare: " 6.a. Capability of accomplishing something with precision and certainty; practical knowledge in combination with ability; cleverness, expertness. Also, an ability to perform a function, acquired or learnt with practice [...]. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. Some examples of general skills include time management, teamwork |last1 = Hepp |first1 = Nicolas |last2 = Starling |first2 = Riley Lynn |last3 = Elbracht |first3 = Greta |author4 = Miriam Sneha Rajkumar |author5 = Win Khant |last6 = Wang |first6 = Pengji |editor-last1 = Eijdenberg |editor-first1 = Emiel L. |editor-last2 = Mukherjee |editor-first2 = Malobi |editor-last3 = Wood |editor-first3 = Jacob |date = 4 August 2023 |chapter = Contemporary Employability Norms for Guest-Facing Hospitality Workers: Some Empirical Evidence During Covid-19 |title = Innovation-Driven Business and Sustainability in the Tropics: Proceedings of the Sustainability, Economics, Innovation, Globalisation and Organisational Psychology Conference 2023 (SEIGOP 2023) |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lkfPEAAAQBAJ |publication-place = Singapore |publisher = Springer Nature |page = 338 |isbn = 9789819929092 |access-date = 26 November 2024 |quote = If the emotional dynamics of a team can be considered part of teamwork as a skill, then there is strong support for teamwork as the top quality in the employability framework. and leadership, |last1 = Northouse |first1 = Peter G. |date = 29 November 2023 |chapter = Understanding Leadership |title = Introduction to Leadership: Concepts and Practice |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=COXgEAAAQBAJ |edition = 6 |publication-place = Thousand Oaks, California |publisher = SAGE Publications |pages = 2–3 |isbn = 9781071884966 |lccn = 2023038761 |access-date = 26 November 2024 |quote = [...] six distinct ways of conceptualizing leadership are discussed, including leadership as a trait, an ability, a skill, a behavior, a relationship, and an influence process. [...] Conceptualized as a skill , leadership is a competency developed to accomplish a task effectively. Skilled leaders are competent people who know the means and methods for carrying out their responsibilities. and self-motivation. |last1 = Lussier |first1 = Robert N. |date = 26 November 2015 |chapter = Motivating for High Performance |title = Management Fundamentals: Concepts, Applications, and Skill Development |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qzhwCgAAQBAJ |edition = 7 |publication-place = Thousand Oaks, California |page = SAGE Publications |isbn = 9781506303291 |access-date = 26 November 2024 |quote = Company recruiters value the skill of self-motivation and drive to succeed. In contrast, domain-specific skills would be used only for a certain job, e.g. operating a sand blaster. Skill usually requires certain environmental stimuli and situations to assess the level of skill being shown and used.

A skill may be called an art when it represents a body of knowledge or branch of learning, as in the art of medicine or the art of war. Although the arts are also skills, there are many skills that form an art but have no connection to the fine arts.

People need a broad range of skills to contribute to the 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. Three broad categories of skills are suggested: technical, human, and conceptual. The first two can be substituted with hard and soft skills, respectively.{{Cite book |title=Soft Skills - Enhancing Employability: Connecting Campus with Corporate |last=Rao |first=M.S. |publisher=I. K. International Publishing House Pvt Ltd |year=2010 |isbn=9789380578385 |location=New Delhi |pages=225 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=O1G9_gr50hIC | quote = Both technical and human skills can be substituted by hard and soft skills respectively in the present context.

Hard skills

Hard skills, also called technical skills, are any skills relating to a specific task or situation. It involves both understanding and proficiency in such specific activity that involves methods, processes, procedures, or techniques. These skills are easily quantifiable unlike soft skills, which are related to one's personality. These are also skills that can be or have been tested and may entail some professional, technical, or academic qualification.

Holistic competency

Holistic competencies is an umbrella term for different types of generic skills (e.g., critical thinking, problem-solving skills, positive values, and attitudes (e.g., resilience, appreciation for others)) which are essential for life-long learning and whole-person development.

Labor skills

Main article: Skill (labor)

Skilled workers have long had historical import (see division of labour) 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.

Life skills

Main article: Life skills

An ability and capacity acquired through deliberate, systematic, and sustained effort to smoothly and adaptively carry out complex activities or job functions involving ideas (cognitive skills), things (technical skills), and/or people (interpersonal skills). |WHO|1993|p=14: °decision-making - problem-solving; °creative thinking - critical thinking; °communication - interpersonal relationships; °self-awareness - empathy; °coping with - emotions and stressors

People skills

Main article: People skills

According to the Portland Business Journal, people skills are described as:

  • 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." The term is already listed in major US dictionaries.

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 skills are any skills 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 are a combination of interpersonal people skills, social skills, communication skills, character traits, attitudes, career attributes and emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) among others.

Development and maintenance

Development of a very high level of skill is often desirable for economic, social, or personal reasons.

In his 2008 book Outliers, Canadian journalist Malcolm Gladwell proposed the "10,000 hour rule", that world-class skill could be developed by practicing for 10,000 hours. This principle was disputed by other commentators, pointing out feedback is necessary for improvement, and that practice is no guarantee of success.

In his 2019 book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, David Epstein argues that a period of sampling different activities (whether musical instruments, sports, or professions) can be helpful before choosing a specialization. Epstein argues that many tasks require a variety of skills which tend to be possessed by more well-rounded people, and finding a task which is a better fit to one's personality and interests can overcome the advantage otherwise provided by having more practice earlier in life and attempting peak performance as a younger person. Someone who has demonstrated a high level of knowledge or skill in multiple disciplines is known as a polymath, or in musical performance, a multi-instrumentalist.

A long-standing question is to what extent skills can be learned versus the degree that innate talent is required for high-caliber performance. Epstein finds evidence for both sides with respect to high-performance sport in his 2013 book The Sports Gene. For thinking tasks, the heritability of IQ has been extensively studied to try to answer this question, though does not necessarily map directly onto skill level for any given thinking task.

A study of professional and master tenpin bowlers found that average scores declined less than 10% from age 20 to age 70.

Skill building

Skill building is a hands-on active learning and experiential learning by-doing approach to education, in contrast to lectures and rote learning where the student plays a very passive role.

References

References

  1. White, Melissa. (June 2007). "Book Reviews: Chris Warhurst, Irena Grugulis and Ewart Keep (eds) The Skills That Matter Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2004, 272 pp. ISBN: 1—4039—0639—4". Work, Employment and Society.
  2. {{Cite Merriam-Webster. art
  3. (2024-04-02). "How the fine arts create the finest students: A design thinking study". Higher Education Quarterly.
  4. "Publications and Research Search Results, Employment & Training Administration (ETA)". U.S. Department of Labor.
  5. Sommerville, Kerry. (2007). "Hospitality Employee Management and Supervision: Concepts and Practical Applications". John Wiley & Sons, Inc..
  6. DuBrin, Andrew. (2008). "Essentials of Management". South-Western Cengage Learning.
  7. Connett, Wendy. (31 March 2023). "Hard Skills: Definition, Examples, and Comparison to Soft Skills".
  8. (2018). "Higher Education Computer Science". Springer.
  9. (November 2017). "A review of literature on challenges in the development and implementation of generic competencies in higher education curriculum". International Journal of Educational Development.
  10. (27 May 2020). "Students' 'approach to develop' in holistic competency: an adaptation of the 3P model". Educational Psychology.
  11. Cowan, Ruth Schwartz. (1997). "A Social History of American Technology". Oxford University Press.
  12. (1999). "Partners in Life Skills Education : Conclusions from a United Nations Inter-Agency Meeting".
  13. Rifkin, H.. (18 July 2008). "Invest in people skills to boost bottom line". Portland Business Journal.
  14. [http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/people-skills “Macmillan Dictionary”] {{webarchive. link. (5 November 2009 Retrieved on 2009-08-18)
  15. [https://www.dictionary.com/browse/people-skills# Dictionary.com definition]. Retrieved on 2009-08-18
  16. Clausen, John A. (ed.) (1968) ''Socialisation and Society'', Boston: [[Little Brown and Company]]
  17. (2013). "Sociology". Pearson.
  18. Robles, Marcel M.. (12 August 2016). "Executive Perceptions of the Top 10 Soft Skills Needed in Today's Workplace". Business Communication Quarterly.
  19. (October 16, 2007). "Declines in ten-pin bowling performance with advancing age Get access Arrow". Age and Ageing.
  20. "Opportunities for Skill Building - Fact Sheet".

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