1. Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success
May 8, 2012; 2:00 – 3:00 ET

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8. Workforce Program Specialist Employment and Training Administration
Moderator
Adrienne Bailey
Workforce Program Specialist
Employment and Training Administration
U.S. Department of Labor
(202)

9. Featured Speakers Presenters Moderator
Michael Huberman, Policy Advisor, Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor
Lisa Stern, Workforce Development Consultant, Concepts, Inc.
Mary Coody, Project Director, Madison County High School/High Tech (FL)
Moderator
Adrienne Bailey, Workforce Program Specialist, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor

10. This webinar will: Agenda/Objectives
Share the Skills to Pay the Bills curriculum on career and work readiness skills for youth ages
Explain how the curriculum was developed and the project design features.
Offer a local example of the curriculum usage by the Madison County High School/High Tech.
Highlight Companion Resources Coming Soon!

11. Poll Question 1
What skills do you think most youth lack as they enter the workforce?
Technical
Interpersonal
“Soft”

12. Office of Disability Employment Policy
Presenter
Michael Huberman
Policy Advisor
Office of Disability Employment Policy
U.S. Department of Labor
(202)

13. They did what??
According to CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,400 hiring managers:
71 percent said answering a cell phone or texting during the interview
69 percent said dressing inappropriately
66 percent said appearing arrogant
59 percent said chewing gum

14. What Employers Say
Businesses across the nation have identified soft skills as crucial to the hiring and employment success of all workers
According to recent surveys, nearly three-quarters of employers indicated high school graduates were deficient in such basic skills as punctuality, verbal communication and working productively with others
Building off these results, ODEP sought to create an inclusive and dynamic curriculum to address these deficiencies

15. What is Skills to Pay the Bills?
Skills to Pay the Bills: Mastering Soft Skills for Workplace Success is a curriculum developed by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)
Focused on teaching workforce readiness skills to youth, including youth with disabilities
Created for youth development professionals to use when working with youth ages 14 to 24, in both in-school and out-of-school environments
The tool consists of modular, hands-on, engaging activities that focus on six key skill areas

16. Our Soft Skills Communication Enthusiasm and Attitude Teamwork
Networking
Problem Solving and Critical Thinking
Professionalism

17. Communication Many forms including verbal, written, and visual
Important to develop skills for both communicating TO others, and learning how to receive info FROM others
Employers routinely list communication skills as top-rated “must have” skill
Focus areas include information transfer and recognition

18. Enthusiasm and Attitude
“I can” attitude is critical component of workplace success
Smiling, punctuality, and desire to learn are traits of a positive attitude
Positive attitude can mean the difference between getting hired and fired
Focus areas include positive thinking and enthusiasm during interviews

19. Teamwork Each individual plays a role in team success
Cooperation, responsibility, communication are key cogs in an effective team
Employers value team players
Focus areas include positive teamwork behavior and understanding roles

20. Networking “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”
Essential strategy for career development and exploration
Networking is key to unlocking “hidden job market”
Focus areas include taking initiative and overcoming fear

21. Problem Solving and Critical Thinking
The ability to use knowledge, facts and data to solve problems
Process is as important as final answer
Employers value ability to develop solution
Focus areas include ethical decision-making and problem solving in a team setting

22. Professionalism
Professionalism is a key to success, regardless of industry
Employers value those who carry out duties in professional manner
Quality work, honesty and integrity are key facets of the “total package”
Focus areas include molding soft skills together

23. Polling Question 2 What soft skill do you think is most important?
Communication
Enthusiasm / Attitude
Teamwork
Networking
Problem Solving / Critical Thinking
Professionalism

24. Workforce Development Consultant
Presenter
Lisa Stern
Workforce Development Consultant
Concepts, Inc.

25. 12-Month Project Design Step #1: Seek feedback from the field
Questions to facilitators
Current materials used for soft skills?
Lesson structure (scripted v. unscripted)?
Types of activities most effective?
Lesson design (progressive vs.
independent)?
Social networking, , texting?

26. We also wanted to know: Do you believe youth in your program
understand and demonstrate skills in these
areas:
Communication: 60%
Enthusiasm and Teamwork: 81%
Teamwork: 58%
Networking: 0%
Problem Solving and Critical
Thinking: 50%

27. Flexible lesson design Structure for instructors
What the sites said:
Flexible lesson design
Structure for instructors
Minimal lecture/reading; maximal
interaction

28. Through the lens of Universal Design
Account for learning differences and varied
skills, talents and interests
Provide a wide range of learners an
opportunity for success
Tips for improving access for all youth
Global strategies
Inclusive teaching strategies
Accommodations

29. Pilot 6 sites – in different parts of the country
Different populations of students, and included
youth
With and without disabilities
Those engaged in GED and career preparation
classes
Whose primary language was other than
English
Participant and instructor feedback led to
adjustments and adaptations of product

30. Youth ratings YUCK! Where you do you guys come sup with this stuff?
It was kind of boring…but not the worst thing
I’ve ever done.
Eh – it was OK.
It was pretty good.
It was AWESOME! I even learned something
new.

31. The Result: 30 Lessons “Just the Facts” – a brief description
Time frame (suggested)
Materials (suggested)
Directions (including sample scripts)
Conclusion (discussion/dialogue)
Journaling activity (with choices)
Extension activity

32. Post Pilot:
Do you believe youth in your program understand and demonstrate skills in these areas:
Communication: 100% (40%)
Enthusiasm and Teamwork: 100% (19%)
Teamwork: 100% (42%)
Networking: 100% (100%)
Problem Solving & Critical Thinking: 100%
(50%)

33. Madison County High School/High Tech (FL)
Presenter
Mary Coody
Project Director
Madison County High School/High Tech (FL)

34. Madison County High School/High Tech (FL)
Mary Coody, project director
11-15 students with various disabilities participated
Students were of different ages and grades

35. Behavioral Changes
Through 4-6 weeks of pilot program, positive changes occurred
Teachers noticed encouraging changes in student behavior
Despite long days, students eagerly partook in exercises

36. What did students like? Hands-on activities were fantastic
Looked forward to experimenting with new ideas and projects
Role-playing was a favorite
Networking activities were beneficial for students and parents

37. The Good, The Bad, The Reasonable Students’ favorite exercise
Students discuss some of the barriers to effective teamwork
Using spaghetti and marshmallows, students have 15 minutes to create tallest freestanding structure
Tallest structure has solid foundation---students discuss importance of foundation for a team

38. After Skills to Pay the Bills
New friendships developed
Team leaders emerged
Students started having fun while learning
9 students graduated, and 8 of the 9 went on to community college

39. Success Story – Brandon Pursley
Skills to Pay the Bills cover artist
Student at Madison County High School
Experience with curriculum gave him the confidence to take his art in a new direction
Currently living and working in Boston

40. In Their Own Words
“It was an experience going beyond my wildest dreams” - Brandon Pursley (student)
“I can’t think of just one thing that we did because I enjoyed everything” - LaShondra Neely (student)
“The Soft Skills activities are fabulous. They cover the five areas that are desperately needed in today’s workforce” - Virginia Dever (facilitator)

41. Coming Soon!
Skills to Pay the Bills Twitter chat – Thursday, May 17th 3-4 EST. Learn more about the curriculum during this interactive chat!
Skills to Pay the Bills web-based game (ETA Fall 2012) – A web-based game teaching youth soft skill and career awareness
Skills to Pay the Bills video series - Vivid interpretations of how soft skills should be used to be successful in obtaining a job and continuing to work successfully in the workplace.

42. Thank You! Tell us how you use the curriculum at: softskills@dol.gov
To download in English or Spanish, please go to:
If you have questions or comments, please contact: Michael Huberman -

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