Some of the most important skills for career and life success cannot be taught in textbooks! More and more, employers feel that young adults entering the job market lack the skills and characteristics they most highly seek - effective communication skills (verbal, written, and nonverbal), critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, adaptability, resilience, leadership, professionalism, emotional intelligence, and teamwork skills.
In this class, learners will learn and practice these workplace and life skills that are crucial to achieving career success. 
Each class session will introduce specific soft skills including what it is and why it is important. Students will listen and take notes during the Soft Skills slides presentation. A “Soft Skills Graphic Organizer Chart” is provided for notes. 
Learners will then be assigned a task card with a specific soft skill to apply what they learned. Task cards may be completed individually or in teams in break-out rooms. Each task card will require problem-solving, critical thinking, effective written communication, demonstration of their knowledge of workplace ethics, the ability to overcome teamwork obstacles, and the ability to resolve conflicts in the workplace.
Individual students and/or teams will present their solution to the task card. Class will conclude with an open discussion about the skills addressed in that specific session.
Week 1: Introduction to soft skills, hard skills versus soft skills, US Department of Labor soft skills video clip (Slides 1-9)
Week 2: Communication: Written, Nonverbal, and Verbal Communication (Slides 10-16)
Week 3: Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving, US Department of Labor Video clip, (Slides 17-20)
Week 4: Teamwork, Emotional Intelligence, video clip from a movie, (Slides 21-27)
Week 5: Adaptability, Professionalism, (Slides 28-36)
Week 6: Wrap-Up/Conclusion
To continue preparing for career readiness, it is recommended to follow this class with Soft Skills for Career Success: Skills Employers Really Want (Part 2) and Career Readiness: Career Exploration & Research (+ The Minimum Wage Project).