"A lot of people look at soft skills as supplemental. They are not. They are foundational. Many prospective construction employees may have many of the skills required to do a job but not the people skills required to work on a job site. They're not prepared to walk onto a job site where you could have two or three different trades, all trying to move in their same space, all trying to work together."
"Survey respondents reported that they are willing and able to train for equipment operation, industry-specific systems, regulatory knowledge and technical certifications. However, they are far less confident in candidates' ability to handle and improve deficiencies in communication, critical thinking or emotional intelligence once an employee is hired."
"Being able to ask a question without fear of being looked at as if you don't know something is key. Having the courage to be able to ask a question can be the difference between going home at the end of the day safe or not."
A Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce survey of over 100 Tarrant County employers reveals that strong people skills represent a major hiring challenge alongside AI and technology concerns. Employers readily train candidates in technical areas like equipment operation, industry-specific systems, and certifications, but struggle with candidates lacking communication, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence. Construction industry leaders emphasize that soft skills enable safe collaboration across multiple trades on job sites. Many candidates appear qualified on paper and interview well but fail to succeed due to deficiencies in interpersonal abilities. Employers across sectors stress that teamwork and people skills are foundational requirements that cannot be easily developed after hiring.
Read at Fort Worth Report
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