Importance of soft skills in employability: Antalya example

Soft skills are defined as human beings' skills as of their creation but do not arise unless they are developed and practiced, complementing hard skills. In an increasingly competitive environment with the development of technology, the business world needs employees who have developed their soft skills. In the working environment, it is seen that more than hard (technical) skills are required to separate the work from its counterparts and come to the forefront. Employees who have developed stress and time management, problem-solving, and creativity skills, can turn the crisis into an opportunity in cases where things do not go as planned, Teamwork, emotional intelligence, and leadership skills; strengthen the relations of enterprises with their internal and external environments. Flexibility/adaptation, lack of practical presentation skills; employees who need help adapting to the environment and exhibiting their efforts as required are not preferred by enterprises. It has become impossible for employers to keep up with today's competitive conditions with employees who are dishonest, unable to express themselves, and do not understand what their customers want. Within the scope of this study, in interviews with 46 employers and managers, Employers and managers were asked questions to determine the essential criteria they look for in the people they will employ. According to the analysis, 26% of the essential criteria employers and managers look for in the people they will employ include technical skills and 74% soft skills. It is seen that the essential criteria that employers and managers look for in the people they will employ are soft skills such as effective communication and business ethics. In the survey interviews conducted with 470 senior students studying at Akdeniz University; The skill level factors of the students were revealed by factor analysis. Skill level factors are; Effective communication skills, Professional competence, Self-efficacy, and Emotional intelligence. The survey reveals that; students have the most effective communication, the least emotional intelligence, and a medium level of professional competence. It can be understood that skill levels differed (p<0.05) depending on the gender of the students and skill levels not differ (p>0.05) depending on their educational fields. Other important consequences of the survey are; the level of professional competence of the students increased (p<0.05) as the education level of the mothers' improved and there was no difference in their skill levels (p>0.05) depending on their fathers' education level.