ERIC Number: ED441901
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1999
Pages: 34
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Soft Skills and the Minority Work Force: A Guide for Informed Discussion.
Conrad, Cecilia A.
This publication analyzes issues that lead to a working definition of soft working skills. Data come from research by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. At a workshop, scholars, practitioners, and representatives from various job sites discussed the impact of soft skills on access to jobs and long-term employment among minority youth. Workshop participants identified many issues that required further examination. Part 1 of this report, "Soft Skills and the Minority Work Force: An Analysis," explores these issues by constructing a definition of soft skills and using that definition to investigate employer demand for soft skills, the soft skills of minority workers relative to other entry level workers, and the importance of soft skills in explaining the labor market problems of African American youth. Accordingly, the analysis focuses on what soft skills are, whether soft skills matter, whether soft skills influence minority hiring decisions, and whether there is a soft skills deficit among minorities. Part 2, "Soft Skills: An Annotated Bibliography," offers summary descriptions of many articles and publications on the subject. (Contains 44 references.) (SM)
Descriptors: Adolescents, Blacks, Communication Skills, Equal Opportunities (Jobs), Hispanic Americans, Interpersonal Competence, Job Skills, Low Income Groups, Minority Groups, Personnel Selection, Secondary Education, Teamwork, Thinking Skills, Work Ethic, Youth Employment
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, 1090 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20005. Web site: http://www.jointcenter.org.
Publication Type: Reference Materials - Bibliographies; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore, MD.; Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, MI.
Authoring Institution: Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Washington, DC.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A