Soft skills are not as soft as you think

WE hear a lot about the looming technology skills gap in the Asia-Pacific, but a trend you may not have heard about is the rise of tech jobs requiring soft skills.

LinkedIn recently released an Emerging Jobs report in several markets in the Asia-Pacific, all listing data scientists as one of the top five emerging jobs. While most of these jobs are tech-focused, a finding from the report points to the requirement for an unexpected mix of technical skills and soft skills like management and communication.

LinkedIn found that data science roles were particularly popular across the region, being the only job to feature in the top five of all countries, and with staggering growth rates. This isn't surprising, as organisations of all sizes have started to realise the potential value hidden in data and are hiring people to help them uncover it. But what does it take to work with data, and why are soft skills important?