Building the Employability Skills of BTE Youth BTE Ambassador Training: Session II

1. Building the Employability Skills of BTE Youth BTE Ambassador Training: Session II

2. Session Goals & Objectives • Gain an understanding of key employability skills • Explore strategies for building employability skills among youth • Extend knowledge and techniques for working with youth

3. Session Agenda • Warm-Up Activity • Content Presentation: Employability Skills • Core Academic Skills • Higher-Order Thinking Skills • Interpersonal Skills • Workplace Skills • How BTE Volunteers Can Help • Brainstorming & Learning Activity • Closing

4. Ground Rules • Refrain from checking your electronic devices for emails or messages • Turn off or silence cell phones/pagers; if you must take a call, step out of the room • Be open to ideas and opinions • Be willing to ask questions • Observe and practice confidentiality of discussion that warrant it • Keep an open mind-avoid judging others • React to the information: address the idea, not the person • Have fun

5. Role Models • Warm-Up Activity

6. Employability Skills • Employability Skills • Competencies needed to be successful in any work setting, regardless of the job. • Not job-specific • Important throughout a career, from entry-level jobs to senior management • Skills, attitudes, and actions that enable employees to get along with their co-workers and make sound, critical decisions.

7. Employability Skills* • Critical job readiness or employability skills include:  • Core Academic Skills • Basic knowledge of core subjects • Higher-Order Thinking Skills • Ability to think, reason, and make sound decisions • Interpersonal Skills • Soft skills or people skills – a cluster of personal traits or behavioral competencies that complement hard skills and are an important part of an employee’s ability to be successful • Workplace Skills • Understanding and utilization of key workplace values • *Alabama Cooperative Extension System

8. Employability Skills • To support the development of employability skills among youth, individuals and organizations can offer a variety of: • Opportunities • Activities that allow students to test-out behaviors and practice skills • Supports • One-to-one relationships, such as coaching or mentoring • Services • Provision of goods, supplies, or resources, including incentives, meals, scholarships, stipends, or transportation.

9. Best Approaches for Building Employability Skills Employability skills are teachable skills that can be taught in school and employment settings, as well as through informal and formal interactions. Interpersonal Skills Coaching or Role Modeling Community Service Critiques & Feedback One-on-One Discussion Sessions Peer Networking Recognition Service Learning Projects Workplace Skills Applied Learning Activities Job Shadowing & Internships Training Sessions Videos Workshops • Core Academic Skills • Applied Learning Activities • Service Learning Projects • Tutoring • Higher-Order Thinking Skills • Brainstorming Sessions • Case Studies • Individual Assignments • Inquiry & Investigation • Group Discussion & Discovery • Group Projects & Work • Oral Presentations • Training Sessions • Service Learning Projects • Workshops

10. How Can BTE Ambassadors Help? • BTE Ambassadors can build employability skills by: • Communicating with youth the skills employers’ require • Coaching or teaching, not telling • Holding youth responsible for their behavior • Modeling appropriate behavior • Organizing team-based (group) applied learning projects • Providing opportunities for youth to observe and practice appropriate work place behavior • Replicating the features of real work settings • Setting high expectations for youth • Targeting specific employability skills • Having fun

11. Brainstorming Activity • Of the employability skills discussed, which employability skills should our BTE program target? • How can our BTE program build these critical employability skills? • What opportunities, supports, or services does our BTE program currently provide to address these skills? • What new opportunities, supports or services should our BTE program provide?

12. BTE Student Activities • Newspaper Tower Spaghetti Bridge Personal Credo • Small Group Learning Activity

13. Debrief & Discuss • What employability skills does the activity address? • What additional activities could be implemented to continue and foster the development of these employability skills? • How could this activity be modified to address additional employability skills?

14. Thank you!