What’s the most valuable skill to have in today’s job market?

What’s the most valuable skill to have in today’s job market?

ENGLISH.

No matter what job or career, good English will make you more valuable and get you a better position and better pay.

My neighbor has some gardeners who work very cheaply. They have to be cheap, because they don’t speak English and very few people can communcate with them. I just read a review for a company that does welding, because I have a small job I need done. The reviewer gave them 1 star (out of 5) and advised people to stay away because no one spoke English well enough that they could explain the job.

At professional levels, this should include writing skills.

Lead positions require presentation and public speaking as well.

I sat in the audience of an international conference of the IATA, the head of the US Federal Aviation Administration gave a speech to a room full of delegations from all over the world. He stood at the podium mumbling into the papers in front of him, never looking up. Though I had a copy of the speech, it was hard to follow even for me, because he read it line-by-line from the printed page, ignoring sentence structure and punctuation. Many quietly ridiculed his performance. Others were deservedly annoyed at having to endure his inconsiderate incompetence. His message was NOT well-received.