SOFT SKILLS We Know They Need Them, but How to Teach Them? Beverly Amer W. A. Franke College of Business Northern Arizona University

Transcription

1 SOFT SKILLS We Know They Need Them, but How to Teach Them? Beverly Amer W. A. Franke College of Business Northern Arizona University

2 2 Skills to You? What are Soft

3 Skills, abilities, and traits that pertain to personality, attitude, and behavior rather than to formal or technical knowledge (Moss and Tilly 2001) 3

4 Soft Skills Include Oral and written communication Teamwork/collaboration Work ethic/self-motivation/dependability/honesty Critical thinking/questioning/problem solving Leadership/influencing Ability to work under pressure Creativity/innovation/resourceful Organizational/time management Attention to detail 4

5 Soft Skills & This Generation Multitaskers; media-oriented Used to working on teams Close to parents Optimistic & confident; want to be rich and famous Achievement-oriented; need structure and feedback Negotiate anything; lack diplomacy Entertainment attitude Get bored quickly if it s not FUN Computers & devices are NOT technology 5

6 What Industry Says About Soft Skills >>Technical skill ALONE does not make someone competitive in the job market Computer literacy skills are assumed! >>Today s workers demonstrate GAPS in: - Communication skills - Team/interpersonal skills - Problem solving - Quantitative reasoning - Business process knowledge - Project management 6

7 Work productively on a diverse team (76%) Oral/written communication skill (73%) Think critically and analytically (73%) Resourcefulness in solving problems (70%) Locate, organize, evaluate Creativity & innovative spirit Understand and communicate quantitatively (60%) Integrity & ethics (56%) What Employers Want Understand global cultures and values (53%) 7

8 Employers also Expect colleges & universities to prepare students in these areas 63% say we are not doing our job 87% rate this preparedness as critical to the United States remaining competitive in the global economy 8

9 What Recent Graduates Say 72% say we should balance between general knowledge and major-specific skills End up in fields not closely related to major They AGREE with Employers! Critical to success are: Teamwork skills Critical thinking skills Oral & written communication skills 51% don t think college prepared them well 9

10 What Does This Mean To Educators? Re-think experiences Modify our assignments to help students practice and connect? Integrate more real world? Break out of our specialty silos Ready to try something new? Motivate colleagues to work with us? 10

11 Discussion: How to Teach Them? What are you now doing? What COULD you do? What resources do you need to get there? Who needs to buy in? How will you know when you are successful? 11

12 One Solution: Soft Skills at Work New workbook with integrated video episodes Focuses on enhancing awareness of behaviors, attitudes and personality traits that go beyond technical skills Interactive workbook includes: Resume and interview preparation Business etiquette Communication skills Team dynamics & behaviors Presentation skills Gives students a chance to learn what to do and then use the power of video to teach and engage 12

13 Soft Skills at Work Workbook Video episodes start with the campus interview process Proceed to watching students as new employees on teams and making presentations Critique the action in each episode Workbook projects relevant to the world of work: Resume preparation Online persona clean-up etiquette Business communication basics OneNote 2007 and collaboration Practical presentation pointers 13

14 Where Do We Go From Here? Think about your students Counting on us to help prepare them Visually attuned and receptive to guidance You already have assignments Supplement them with this real world material? See your sales representative or call Request the Soft Skills at Work demo DVD Workbook & videos ready NOW! Visit 14

15 Comments? Questions? Beverly Amer 15