Essential Skills Workshop

Learning Outcomes To understand what is meant by ‘ Essential Skills ’ and why they are important To learn where you can go to assess your level of Essential Skills To be aware of the importance of continuing to develop your Essential Skills

What are Skills? Activities that you know how to do well Gained through… Education Training Life experience

What are my Skills? Brainstorming Activity: List as many skills as you can in 2 minutes

Skills categories… Personal Management ● time ● organizational ● Facebook Specialized ● forklift certificate Transferable ● skills you can transfer from one job to another Essential ● needed for work, life and learning

Brainstorming Activity List the Essential Ingredients needed to Make a Cake

Essential Skills are … Skills that employers expect in their employees Skills that lead to success in the workplace They provide the foundation for learning all other skills Used throughout daily life in different forms and at different levels of difficulty

There are NINE Essential Skills Reading Text Document Use Numeracy Writing Oral Communication Working with others Thinking Skills Computer Use Continuous Learning

Essential Skill Workplace Example Life Examples Reading Text Understanding materials written in sentences or paragraphs A Sales Representative needs to read manuals for product descriptions & knowledge Reading and understanding a lease agreement for renting an apartment Reading magazines and newspapers You are using this skill right now

Essential Skill Workplace Example Life Examples Document Use Using and understanding labels, graphs, charts, tables, signs and other similar materials A Tour Guide consults bus and ferry schedules, and reads luggage tags & street signs Filling out a job application This slide is a document Finding out the temperature by reading a thermometer

Essential Skill Workplace Example Life Examples Numeracy Using and understanding numbers and money A Cashier uses money math to calculate change for the customer Measuring ingredients for a recipe Calculating tip for food service Scheduling time and budgeting money

Essential Skill Workplace Example Life Examples Writing Writing text or typing on a computer A Security Guard writes incident reports and memos to supervisors Creating a shopping list Writing a resume or cover letter Preparing an

Essential Skill Workplace Examples Life Examples Oral Communication Using speech to share thoughts and information A Nurse talks with other health professionals to exchange information on patients’ treatment plans Explaining a medical problem to your Doctor Comforting others Asking for directions

Essential Skill Workplace Example Life Examples Working with Others Interacting with others to complete tasks On a construction site many different tradesmen have to work together to complete a project Helping a friend move into a new apartment Participating on a sports team Coordinating a party

Essential Skill Workplace Example Life Examples Thinking Reviewing information to make decisions A Daycare Teacher (Early Childhood Educator) must decide if a parent should be called when a child appears ill Critical thinking when confronted with an emergency Using your memory to recall information Researching on the computer

Essential Skill Workplace Example Life Examples Computer Use Using different kinds of computer applications and other related technical tools Food Servers enter customer’s food order into a computerized cash register Withdrawing or depositing money at an automatic teller machine (ATM) Sending s with attachments to multiple users Faxing your resume

Essential Skill Workplace Example Life Examples Continuous Learning Participating in an ongoing process of acquiring skills and knowledge A Construction Worker takes a one-day first aid course Attending a job search program Learning new skills from co-workers Upgrading academic subjects to receive your GED (General Educational Development)

Break Time Let’s take a 10 minute break…….

ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR… LIFE

ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR… WORK Essential Skills are linked to job postings, employment, and career planning

Essential Skills In... JOB POSTINGS JOB POSTINGS

Essential Skills In… Career Planning Career Planning Let’s visit the Ontario Skills Passport Website…

ESSENTIAL SKILLS LEVELS… Levels of Essential Skills refers to how difficult the tasks are Complexity levels range from 1 (very basic) to 5 (most advanced)

For Example… Level One: Sift through the deck of cards and find an Ace Level Two: Find all the Aces in deck of cards Level Three: Arrange all the cards from lowest to highest, in their own suits Level Four: Pull out the cards needed to give you the highest poker hand Level Five: Using your knowledge of how card games are played, create your own game

Examples of tasks and their complexity levels Computer Use use computer applications, such as specialized software to issue tickets. (level 1) use communications software. For example, communicate with co-workers by . (level 2) use a database. For example, find and record information, book flights and process cargo loads. Booking flights requires co-coordinating connecting flights, seat availability and fare structures. (level 3) Oral Communication interact with customers to respond to ticket requests, answer questions, exchange information or discuss flight or shipping options. (level 1) make boarding announcements, in both official languages. (level 1) attend staff meetings to discuss how to improve work processes. (level 2) exchange information and co-ordinate work with supervisors and coworkers. (level 2)

ESSENTIAL SKILLS… ASSESSMENTS ASSESSMENTS How do you measure your Essential Skills level?

Test of Workplace Essential Skills Reading text Reading text Document use Document use Numeracy Numeracy Using authentic workplace documents

A GREAT PRACTICE SITE IS… Measure Up Website

For on-line assessments you can go to… Human Resources and Skills Development Canada ES/tools_resources/tools_audience/general/ online_indicator.shtml

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Slow down your speech and pronounce words clearly and correctly. Vary your pitch, tone and volume to emphasize key words or sentences. Record yourself speaking and then listen to the recording to analyze your pitch, tone, speed and volume. Oral Communication Tips Oral Communication Tips

Essential Skills Video Resources The Sto:Lo Nation Human Resources Development Website 2&Itemid=155

WHAT ESSENTIAL SKILLS DID YOU USE IN THIS WORKSHOP TODAY?

This project was made possible through funding from the Government of Canada.