Manage diversity by applying strong soft skills actively

The focus on maritime training has always been more on technical and operational education, based on the assumption that technical skills will always form the backbone of basic career development.

Eminent bodies such as Harvard Business Review emphatically state that soft skills will define the career progression in the next decade.

The cultural, geographical and academic diversity of our experienced staff, not only at sea and on shore, ensures we are capable of bridging the gap from trainer to trainee in the acquisition of key soft skills your leaders require.

Focus on more than technical skills

Today, there is an increased focus on soft skills. However previously, these have not featured prominently in the syllabus of maritime education. Technical and operational knowledge has traditionally formed the backbone of basic career development.

They key ‘weapon’ in the Green-Jakobsen toolkit is the 70:20:10 principle, whereby theoretical knowledge is practiced and skills are honed through group activities, role-plays and interactive exercises.

Felt and lasting impact

At the beginning, participants may not always be forthcoming in contributing. This is where our experience across ranks and nationalities benefits our clients.  By practicing what we preach, we use simple-to-understand exercises where participants can grow in confidence in applying apply soft skills to everyday work situations – seldom failing in such an endeavor.

However, this turnaround isn’t always immediate. But when the change is felt, the impact is lasting. We have had many clients come back to us with feedback after several months and it was not uncommon to hear from them: ‘We can now observe some changes in the people handling skills of our management onboard and ashore, it really works!’

Find our range of soft skills courses here