ERIC Number: EJ989802
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 3
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0095-5892
EISSN: N/A
Taking Soft Skills for Granted?
Dutton, Gail
Training, v49 n5 p48-50 Sep-Oct 2012
The U.S. Department of Labor will award a total of $2 billion over the next four years through the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant Program. Grants will support the development and improvement of postsecondary programs of two years or less that use evidence-based or innovative strategies to prepare students for successful careers in growing and emerging industries. The question is: Will these and other programs go beyond teaching technical skills to cover the soft, interpersonal skills that remain crucial in today's business world? This is a key issue as the IT industry believes technical skills alone aren't enough to get the job done. Managers in a spring survey by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) bemoaned the lack of soft skills such as teambuilding, project management, innovation, and analytic abilities among their technologically savvy employees. Others just entering the workforce also often need to develop work ethics, leadership capabilities, and a commitment to lifelong learning. For many organizations, federal grants provide a relatively unexplored source of training funds. Working with community colleges and training organizations allows businesses to tap these funds. Knowing that funding for soft skills training may be included in grant applications is often the difference between funding or not funding that type of training--the training that many organizations say is sorely needed in today's work environment.
Descriptors: Evidence, Lifelong Learning, Ethics, Community Colleges, Grants, Industry, Job Skills, Work Environment, Federal Aid, Educational Innovation, Surveys, Administrators, Teamwork, Administration, Leadership Effectiveness, Career Education
Lakewood Media Group. 5353 Knox Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55419. Tel: 847-559-7533; Fax: 847-291-4816; Web site: http://www.trainingmag.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A