Knowledge of soft skills or people Skills are increasingly coming into focus and being recognized as critical for success - hence at IBM we call them "Success Skills", and categorize them as "Hot Skills".

A research by Harvard University, Carnegie Foundation and Stanford Research Center has concluded that 85% of job success comes from having well developed soft skills and people skills,and only 15% of job success comes from Technical skills and knowledge (hard skills).

This specialization is aimed at helping you develop these powerful people and soft skills and behaviors that include:

• creating & delivering impactful presentations;

• working professionally to deliver quality work & experiences;

• collaborating effectively with teams;

• communicating productively and efficiently;

• dealing with challenges, solving problems & implementing solutions.

The program is made up of 5 short courses that you can take in any order, followed by a final assessment course. Upon completing this specialization, you will have developed knowledge and demonstrated an understanding of these essential skills.

This specialization can be taken by anyone no matter your age or work experience. And is especially beneficial for those entering the workforce or in early stages of their careers.

There are no course pre-requisites and this course can be completed either using the Coursera mobile app or a web browser on a laptop/desktop/tablet/mobile device.

Applied Learning Project

The courses in this specialization include many examples and real life inspired scenarios for you to develop critical people and soft skills. The final assessment is also made up of mini-case studies. This case study approach will not only help you you learn how to apply these fundamental skills, their mastery will enable you to gain an edge in your careers by having a better understanding of the skills you need to get ahead in your professional and personal life.