Skills, skills, skills – absolutely the top word at the moment, and hopefully, for a very long time to come! Can a new hire carry out an activity? Do they have the common sense to figure out a tough problem? Have they learned lessons that only life can teach them as opposed to relying on book and lecture learning only?

This recognition clearly affects how we recruit, hire and retain”

As new jobs are created that have never previously existed, the world of business is finally recognising the necessity of skills, both tangible and intangible, to make a company or a private- or third-sector organisation be able to do what it does and will do. This recognition clearly affects how we recruit, hire and retain. The value of a classroom education stays intact as a means of gathering knowledge but not necessarily for picking up skills. While AI and ChatGPT dominate much discussion in recruitment at the moment, the dawning of skills recognition reflects human advancement in thinking. And this is truly an exciting development.

DeeDee Doke, Editor