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This is the second part of a 2 part article on how to evaluate a soft skills curriculum. We are right in the middle of a discussion about some of the things to look for when purchasing a soft skills program. - Look for closed captioning which will help ESL students and enhances learning. Also, the closed captioning should be as accurate to the script as possible. - The program should use graphics to highlight important points and have a comprehensive instructors guide to assist in class discussions. The Instructor’s guide should also help promote creativity in the classroom. - It is important that lessons should be entertaining or enjoyable with different backgrounds, instructors, etc. This will help to keep the students attention and in the process, learn the materials. - A certificate of completion should be available at the successful close of the class. Most hiring managers HR staff love to see certificates on resumes – it always shows Initiative. - Programs should also include the use of case studies which will bring in reality to the lessons. They should also use role playing which has been proven to be a powerful method of teaching. Reviews and quizzes should also be part of the program after every lesson. A lot of instructors now feel that teaching programs online is best and easiest method of instruction. This is because the videos can be viewed and reviewed numerous times and classes can be re-run if they are missed in real time. Additional reasons to be online are the 24/7/365 access, having an excellent method for a 24/7 discussion board, ease of instruction because the date can be taken in small segments. Assignments can be given online along with tests that can be taken and automatically graded. Questions can be asked via email and the discussion group. When looking for a soft skills online program make sure it can be accessible by laptop, tablet or smart-phone. This allows the classes to be fully accessed by the technology of today. Of course, it is very important for the student to use all of the information that they have learned in the classes every day in order to make their soft skills second nature and eventually a habit. By doing so they will have a successful career and become very “promotable.” In summary, employers need to have staff who are educated in soft skills and statistics prove that qualified workers who are “job ready” are more productive and fit into the corporate culture better. Follow this article when looking for soft skills curriculum and your workforce will help your company become successful and profitable. Jim Stedt is a partner at The Business SoftSkills Company (GetSoftSkillsNow.Com) located in Santa Ana, California. They provide job readiness and workforce success videos for education, business, prisons and individual use. Training is available online, on DVD, or through an affiliate program. These products are the most complete and concise soft skills training packages now available for the price of an average college textbook.
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