Training in Soft Skills Development – Lessons Learned and Moving Forward

Background Navigating the World of Work (NWoW !) Employers – Valuable Soft Skills Students – Accomplishments and Learning Process Moving Forward - Training CO-OP PROGRAM Agenda

Background New Programming Navigating the World of Work (NWoW !) Recruitment Cycle Preparation  The “Nuts & Bolts” of Work Term Preparation CO-OP PROGRAM

Navigating the World of Work Provides opportunity to:  Understand the industry trends  Network with industry professionals  Learn from co-op alumni Events  Careerspark  Career Panels  Industry Tours  Trying on Hats CO-OP PROGRAM

Questions asked:  Three top soft skills  Soft skill - more valuable now Employers – Valuable Soft Skills CO-OP PROGRAM

Three Top Soft Skills CO-OP PROGRAM Industry Sector EducationCommunicationCritical ThinkingFlexibility/ Adaptability GovernmentAnalytical/ Research Critical Thinking/ Problem Solving Flexibility/ Adaptability Health CareCommunicationManaging Multiple Priorities Planning/ Organizing ServiceCommunicationCritical Thinking/ Problem Solving Team work

Soft Skill - More Valuable Now Flexibility/Adaptability The ability to do a range of tasks. (e.g. one year there may have been funds to hire 3 co-op students to do 3 different projects, but in another year budget constraints may only allow for one co-op student to undertake work across 3 projects) Initiative Openness to learn new skills and take on new challenges. This maximize the "employability" of the candidate. Perseverance It’s tough to be a researcher with limited funds and increasingly competitive grants, so I think those that survive are those that persevere at something until a result, either positive or negative, is found. CO-OP PROGRAM

Situational awareness - ability to put a particular circumstance/issue/problem/role in the broader context of the big picture of the organization/ecosystem where you exist. Much Needed - As in psychiatry and imaging, matters are never black and white. CO-OP PROGRAM Critical Thinking – Employers’ Comments

Initiative is one of the most difficult skills to describe (and teach!). It involves the student thinking “outside the box.” It is one thing to interpret an experiment and say that it didn’t work. But why didn’t it work? What can we do differently next time? What has been done before that we can use next time? It is like problem solving but goes a little further. When demonstrated, it is a prized skill ! Self Starter We value students who perform the assigned tasks, and then think ahead to the next step without being told to do so. CO-OP PROGRAM Initiative – Employers’ Comments

We don't have the luxury of working on single projects and dedicating time to single projects. In today's work environment, the expectation is that a student will be able to: - work on multiple projects at the same time - balance the requirements and demands for each In clinics, it is the key because it is stress and time limits on all tasks. CO-OP PROGRAM Managing Multiple Priorities – Employers’ Comments

Students – Learning Process Questions asked: How soft skills were further improved for which – employer praised Challenges faced What learning method worked best:  Listening  Observing  Applying the skill at work  Combination of all the above Additional soft skill, you would like to improve? CO-OP PROGRAM

Senior Co-op Students - Experience and Advice Organizational Skills Highly recommended, come up with a numbered list of what to do. Make sure, tasks on the list are: Concrete rather than abstract (e.g., "summarize 5 articles" is better than "review the literature"). Not too large, e.g., "write the report" is too broad and abstract; make it concrete by breaking it down into smaller tasks such as: 1. Summarize 20 articles; 2. Write introduction; 3. Write methods, etc. CO-OP PROGRAM

Senior Co-op Students - Experience and Advice Taking Initiative Most of the time my supervisor was busy and I had to learn how to be self-directed. I learned to find other tasks that can improve a research project. A few challenges I faced: - fearful that my supervisor would reject a project that I proposed - perform an unassigned task incorrectly and ruin the project To address this, I always updated my supervisor. I also realized that even if my supervisor didn’t think that a project I proposed was worthwhile doing, she still appreciated that I was being proactive. CO-OP PROGRAM

Senior Co-op Students - Experience and Advice Communication and Leadership Skills To develop my communication skills, I relied a lot on observing my co-workers. For example, to send mass s to the department, I used previous s from my peers as a model to get an idea of the tone and writing style I should be using. Asking for clarification when I wasn’t sure of how to do something or how a particular procedure worked, helped me overcome challenges. One aspect of leadership and coordination that I found challenging was delegation. It was not until I was familiar and comfortable with my own role that I was able to assign tasks to others. CO-OP PROGRAM

Learning Method - Worked Best By listening: - Gained new ideas - Evaluated my work more critically Listening to supervisor's advice is key for re-directing one's work ….. observing and writing notes while listening to instructions from my supervisor because many of my responsibilities involved multiple steps and preparation Applying the skills at work By repetition. I developed these soft skills with many different people in my work environment because everyone provided a different insight CO-OP PROGRAM

Soft Skill – I Would Like To Improve Critical thinking - I think being able to form my own analysis of an issue and being able to communicate my ideas clearly and persuasively are important skills to take out of university and bring to the workplace. Ability to be patient in stressful situations - When I am responsible for something, I usually like to take charge and am reluctant to rely on the help of others. Unfortunately, when it comes to more large-scale projects, this strategy does not work well. Interpersonal skills - I have seen that networking can be very beneficial and of a great help in finding opportunities in my future, but I have never been very good at that. CO-OP PROGRAM

Moving Forward - Training Training  Scenarios from work terms  Quiz Results Expected Better understanding of soft skills, valuable for:  Diverse roles  Various industry sectors Successful transition from university to work world CO-OP PROGRAM

Questions CO-OP PROGRAM