INVEST IN YOURSELF with in-demand skills

Every business is only as good as its employees.

Since the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the job market, many employers have reassessed the skills and expertise they seek in their staff. As business goals evolve to ensure both short- and long-term success, so does the staff skillset needed to align with the new organisational vision. This has driven many people to upskill, retrain, or fast-track their learning to keep up with an ever-changing environment.

London South Bank University (LSBU) are proud to offer accelerated degree programmes at their new Croydon campus, shaped by leading academics to meet employer demands, and enable professionals to earn a degree in just two years, pay lower fees and launch their career sooner. Now more than ever, is the time for professionals to invest in themselves with the expertise that will make them stand out in the job market.

So what expertise do employers value today? We will explore the emerging in-demand skills and evaluate LSBU’s commitment to developing high-calibre graduates who are ready to meet the changing needs of the business world.

1. Data literacy

Businesses have seen unprecedented change and have come to realise the importance of getting to grips with their data, in order to have a better view of their organisation and make informed decisions. This has led to analytical skills becoming a sought-after attribute in new employees. Whether businesses need to identify risks or investigate a problem, professionals who can interpret data, identify trends and integrate new information are increasingly valuable.

LSBU supports students in meeting this employer demand, particularly with modules which cover the use for data in decisionmaking, such as Data for Decision Making or Professional and Digital Skills. The teaching explores the range of ways of handling, analysing and presenting data. The goal is to enable storytelling, drawing key insights from data and using this to drive informed business decisions.

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2. Soft skill success

Whilst proficiency in the technical side of finance or business management remains vital to organisations, there is also a rising need for professionals who possess soft skills, such as persuading and influencing stakeholders and colleagues. Finance professionals especially are moving away from simply reporting, and are now shifting focus to providing advice to facilitate growth.

LSBU ensures their students are equipped with a toolkit of soft and hard skills to succeed in their careers. Both the finance and business accelerated degrees are shaped to include management modules, which explore the complexities of organisations and key management, organisational behaviour and people management strategies.

3. Aptitude for technology

Today’s fast-moving world requires businesses to effectively utilise technology, and the right kind of technology, in order to keep up with change. The pandemic has fast-tracked digital transformation in many organisations and it’s an asset to have the skills to use the latest digital trends and apply the most relevant to their business goals. Exploiting these technologies helps organisations remain agile and resilient to future environmental changes. The rich learning content in LSBU’s accelerated degrees explores digital skills, finance in a digital world and digital transformation in organisations. That ensures graduates enter the job market ready to apply the theory, concepts and practices to support business change.

4. Critical thinking

Another skill that is essential to businesses is critical thinking. Since the start of the pandemic, effective critical thinking is more important than ever in making business decisions due to the vast quantity of

To learn more about how you can fast-track your career with LSBU’s accelerated degrees, visit www.lsbu.ac.uk/croydon information circulating in the world, especially as much of it changes on a daily basis. This makes business planning difficult so the ability to think ahead and evaluate the most reliable information, for the long-term, is vital.

The learning environment and programme structure at LSBU nurtures critical thinking, innovation, creativity and enterprise. The application of theory to practice, in order to develop and implement appropriate business strategies, consolidates the use of these skills in a real business environment.

5. Autonomous working

An increasingly common hiring trend by HR managers is skills-based hiring, of which the ability to work independently is highly sought after. As remote working practices thrive, employers seek employees who can work proactively and autonomously to ensure their role is a success, irrespective of working location.

LSBU aims to enhance the skills needed for independent learning, in order to ensure that students are prepared to take responsibility for their own personal development during the course of their degree programme and in their future careers. Self-managed study supplements and complements classroombased learning, building up knowledge with a mix of learning activities that are supported by the virtual learning environment.

London South Bank University’s strong links to professional bodies, industry specialists and former students, keep it at the forefront of a changing business world. This market intelligence feeds into maintaining first class business courses for its students, especially those studying the Accounting and Finance or Business Management accelerated degree programmes who want to retrain sooner and enter the workforce with highly competitive skills.