The relationship between work skills and abilities is that both qualities enable an individual to perform certain types of tasks very well. The major difference lies in the way the individual obtains the abilities. Work skills are the type of skills a person acquires to enable him or her perform a job effectively. One does not acquire abilities, however, because he or she is either born with such talents or not. Skills can be learned and improved to the point that a person may be able to perform tasks that require such skills naturally. On the other hand, ability allows a person to perform a task naturally without much exertion simply because the person already has a natural propensity for excelling in such areas.
An example of the connection between work skills and abilities would be a situation in which someone has natural leadership qualities. Anyone who has such an ability will automatically and instinctively know how to react in a situation that requires leadership. That is not to say that other people cannot learn how to become effective leaders. The difference is that one is a talent and another is a learned skill. The application in a workplace is that a natural-born leader will automatically assume the leadership position on any team, because the leadership qualities will cause him or her to make decisions and relate with others in a manner that only good leaders do. Others who do not have this ability may study the way it should be done so as to know how to apply themselves to good leadership.
Work skills and abilities apply to situations in which some people have personal abilities that make them stand out from others. This includes abilities in management, communication, social settings, and working with numbers. Someone who is naturally social and outgoing may already has an advantage over an introvert in relation to interpersonal relationship in the workplace. The extrovert may easily adapt to communicating with other workers, customers and members of the community in which the business is situated. An introvert may be able to study the principles of good communication, and with enough practice become skilled at communicating effectively with others.
Another example of the connection between work skills and abilities is a situation in which some people have a natural creative ability. This ability may help them be more inventive and innovative in their workplace. Others may learn this skill, but it will come more naturally to the people who already have the natural propensity toward creativity.
