What are Vocational "Soft Skills" and why do we need them?

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Angela Mahoney, MEd, provided our August community education presentation inspired by her program I Can Work! A career readiness program designed in integrate communication skills with hands-on prevocational training in the areas of job readiness, clerical, retail, food service, and the grocery industry. You can find the full program at: http://icanwork.therapro.com/

An important component of helping students of all abilities is helping them to develop the “soft skills” needed for employment.  Soft skills are the personality traits, habits, and social-emotional capacities that we bring to the workplace. “Hard skills” are the concrete quantifiable and more quickly taught skill sets that a particular job requires. Angela gave the following examples of soft skills: self advocacy, empathy, personal habits, social skills, communication and language skills, adaptability, etc.  These are the skills that allow us to navigate the workplace, ask for assistance when needed, have flexibility, and relate to the words and emotions of others, so that we can work as part of a team, or interact with customers.  

Some of the ways you can support building “soft skills” at home include: role play, watch video models, observe others in the work place (formal job shadow or, informally, as you are out in the community), create and read social stories about various job-related interactions.

Some additional examples of how you can support soft skills you can support throughout a child’s life include:

Elementary School Students: Provide opportunities for chores and responsibility at home emphasizing associated vocabulary and communication needed to complete these chores.

Middle School Students:  Introduce students to different jobs in the community and explore the soft skill expectations that might be associated with each one.

High School Students: Practice time management skills, communication skills for interviewing and applying, and consider proper work attire.

Originally posted by Growing Healthy Children Therapy Services via Locable