Why Soft Skills Matter

1. Why Soft Skills Matter Karen Dixon, PhD Assistant Director The Horizons School Birmingham, AL

2. Background • The Horizons School is a post-secondary residential program for young adults (18-26) with learning disabilities, autism, & developmental disorders to learn the skills they need to work and live independently in the community. • For most of our students, soft skills are difficult and are a major focus of our program.

3. Session Objectives Objectives: • Understand the soft skills deficit from both academic and business perspectives • Decide which soft skills are most important to area employers • Take first step to build partnerships between Educators and Employers to remediate deficits

4. What do we mean by soft skills?

5. The Stats

6. What Grads think VS. Employers

7. Top ten soft skills employers believe college grads lack In your workplace, what would be the top 5 soft skills needed to succeed? • Business acumen • Coaching skills • Critical thinking / problem-solving • Flexibility / openness to new experiences • Leadership • Lifelong learning / self-direction • Professionalism / work ethic • Relationship building • Teamwork / collaboration • Written Communication Society of Human Resource Management (2015) “The Hiring of 2015 College Graduates”

8. Top ten soft skills employers believe college grads lack (in order of importance) • Professionalism / work ethic • Relationship building • Business acumen • Written communication • Critical thinking / problem solving 6. Leadership 7. Lifelong learning / self-direction 8. Teamwork / collaboration 9. Coaching skills 10. Flexibility / openness to new experiences Society of Human Resource Management (2015) “The Hiring of 2015 College Graduates”

9. How important are soft skills? • Wall Street Journal: 92% of 900 executives said soft skills were equally or more important than technical skills. 89% said they had a very or somewhat difficult time finding employees with soft skills. • CareerBuilder: 77% of employers rate soft skills of equal importance to cognitive/technical skills

10. Preparedness of Recruits/Students to perform at a high level in Professional Environment Bloomberg Next (2018) Building Tomorrow’s Talent: Collaboration can close emerging skills gap

11. Employers vs. Students perception of preparedness for workplace

12. Why the huge discrepancy? Possibilities: • Are students over-confident of their abilities? • Difficulty assessing soft skills • How can students accurately self assess? Should they? Faculty and/or Peer review of skills? • How do employers assess skills during interview process? OJT for soft skills? • Does the increase in online classes contribute to this skills gap? • Are employers communicating the importance of soft skills adequately?

13. Example job description Job descriptionProvides guidance and implementation for security activities on Internet and distributed network platforms for the bank.ResponsibilitiesParticipates in IT projects to analyze complex architecture and configurations and devise (and implement as required) appropriate security architecture and strategy.Works with owners of Internet and distributed systems for establishing their system security architecture, strategy, policies and procedures according to best practices and corporate security policies with guidance from senior IT security analysts.Works with business units, technical units, and vendors on data security considerations, architectures, implementations, policies, strategies, and standards, and works closely with each to ensure appropriate data security is implemented across all platforms.Maintain departmental procedures. Participates in the On-call rotation for the department. Education/ExperienceBachelor''s Degree (BA, BS, etc.) in Computer Science, Business, or a related field required with No experience required of . Work experience may NOT substitute for education requirement.Lic/Cert/RegRequired: None requiredPreferred: None preferredWe believe that having a team made up of people with different ways of viewing the world and of taking on each challenge makes us a better bank. That is why we actively support diversity and inclusion, and we invite you to apply, regardless of your race, gender, age, sexual orientation, country of origin, experience, studies, etc.We nurture a collaborative and inclusive work environment that enables us to show and develop the best we each have to offer. Pay Transparency Policy Statement Individuals with Disabilities EEO Statement

14. Overview Come work for a team that is ready to help you grow your new career in Construction Materials Testing! If you enjoy working outside and collecting data that is key to the proper construction of a building or other structure, then becoming an Engineering Technician may be the perfect fit for you! This is an entry level position that exists for the purpose of training incumbents to perform field and laboratory testing tasks. The incumbent will be trained under the supervision of a higher level technician or manager. Tasks include, but are not limited to, sample collection, sample preparation, sample testing, field observations, and documentation of construction activities pertaining to soil, concrete, grout, mortar and asphalt. The position requires the incumbent to clearly identify, verbally communicate, and document test results and activities on a daily basis. Here's a few videos to see exactly what our technicians get to do in the field. Enjoy! XXXXXX offers a competitive benefits package including Medical, Dental, and Vision plans, 401(k) with company match, Flexible Spending Account, and Group Short Term Disability and Life Insurance plans. Starting Rate of Pay ranges from $13.00 per hour to $14.00 depending on experience. Responsibilities Review specifications for civil and structural plans and identify sections applicable to the scope of work Perform tests and observations according to project requirements Submit daily field reports to document testing and field observations Document and communicate non-conforming items to designated project supervision Clean, maintain and calibrate all assigned equipment according to applicable codes and standards Learn how to transport, operate and care for a nuclear density gauge as assigned, meeting all safety, care and maintenance guidelines as outlined in the Radiation Safety Program Policy. Qualifications No prior knowledge of testing or field observation is required. Ability to create and maintain accurate and confidential test records and to prepare easily understandable reports for documentation. Skilled in the use of computers and common software applications. Ability to learn company specific software and programs. Ability to be trained and to follow directions. Ability to communicate effectively. Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships. Ability to dress, speak & act professionally and appropriately Ability to deal with stressful situations, multiple priorities and hectic schedules calmly and courteously. Ability to work ethically, honestly and safely at all times. Ability to drive a company vehicle and adhere to all company guidelines for operation and safety.

15. How do we learn soft skills? • Students can read about soft skills BUT… • Soft skills require practice to gain proficiency

16. How can we begin to close the soft skills gap? • Experiential exercises: • Such as role-playing can be done in person or through video. This allows repeated practice to learn how to deal with real-life scenarios and improve through feedback. • Mentoring - Evidence of job readiness: • Work with mentors to target specific skills and work on career or college readiness. • Work-based learning • Businesses can partner with high schools to establish pre-employment apprenticeship programs designed to introduce students to workplace demands. K-12 programs are creating simulated worksites so students can understand employer expectations.

17. How can we begin to close the soft skills gap? • Self-assessment and peer review • Studies show self-assessment promotes lifelong learning. Critical thinking improves by reviewing one’s own work. • When reviewing work of peers students are able to work on verbal and written communication • Build a coalition • Representatives from industry, education and community should discuss common priorities and challenges, create meaningful programs, build a pipeline of qualified employees. How to develop soft skills in the digital age. Jeff Lewis, PhD, 7/16/2018 Bridging the soft skills gap. US Chamber of Commerce Foundation, AVID.

18. Why Collaborate? • When instructors know which soft skills they should be emphasizing they can make simple and effective changes to their curricula. • Employers know what skills they are looking for, they need to communicate those needs to schools. • Schools struggle to prepare students for the workforce. Employers struggle to fill positions. • Shared value is created when employers make it a business priority to connect directly to schools to develop skills and career pathways.

19. Activity Time! • Each group should have at least one person from education and one from business sector. Instructions: • Introduce yourselves and your place of employment and title or role. • What are the top 5 soft skills most important for your business, department, school or program? • Do you know of any post-secondary schools and community organizations that are addressing the soft skills gap? • What are ways you can work together to build real partnerships that will benefit all: student, employer, school? • During your discussion identify ONE THING you will do when you get back to work to begin working on the soft skills gap.

20. Summary What did you learn from talking to each other? What is your ONE THING?

21. Questions or Comments? Contact information: Karen Dixon, PhD Assistant Director The Horizons School kdixon@horizonsschool.org 205-322-6606