Hinkson: Soft skills necessary

Member of Parliament for St James North, Edmund Hinkson is calling for more focus to be placed on soft skills.

“I certainly believe that our educational system does not cater as well as it should to training our young people in the soft skills of life,” he observed yesterday, while addressing The Clarkson Foundation Inc., ‘VIBES’ Life Skills Programme launch.

Hinkson said that the skills of communication, decision-making, self-motivation, leadership, team-work, problem-solving and time management are critical.

“I don’t believe we are trained enough for these kinds of characteristics that are so important in life. How to be leaders in life because we don’t want to be followers,” he stated, pointing out that the VIBES programme is trying to fill that gap in the educational system.

Hinkson, who is the Shadow Minister of Education, also believes that students should take part in some type of extracurricular activity.

“The time has come for our policy makers to look at some kind of mandatory youth service for young people,” he stressed.

“There was a time when I believe that you had to join an organisation at school and that was encouraged – whether it be scouts, cadets, guides, played a sport or joined a service organisation...We need to encourage this again,” he added.