Communication Skills in the Workplace: Employers Talk Back

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Communication Skills in the WorkplaceEmployers
Talk Back

• Nancy Martin-Young

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Why are our students in school?

• They want a good job.

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Area Unemployment Figures

• 1995 2.6
• Feb 2001 2.3
• March 2002 4.8
• National for April 2002 6

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Outlook is grim . . .

• NACE predicts 36 drop.

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Todays Agenda

• History of the shift toward skilled labor
• Skills employers want
• Changes in interviewing
• Assignments that teach skills

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Jobs in 1950

• Unskilled workers 60
• Skilled workers 20
• Professionals 20

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Changes in the 1980s

• 1983 A Nation at Risk
• 1984 The Unfinished Agenda
• 1985 The Neglected Majority

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Jobs in the 1990s

• 1991 Skilled workers 45
• Professionals 20
• Unskilled 35
• Beginning of America 2000

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The 21st Century

• Prediction was skilled workers 65
• Bureau of Labor Statistics--most jobs lost were
  unskilled
• ESC--40 professional, technical, managerial

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Trouble brewing

• By 2010, labor market short 4.8 million workers
• 57 billion/year in training costs

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ASTD targets skills

• Basics--reading, writing, computation
• Communication skills
• Adaptability
• Developmental skills
• Group effectiveness
• Influencing skills

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SCANS 3-Part Foundation

• Basic skills--math, communication
• Thinking skills
• Personal qualities

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SCANS Competencies

• Manage resources
• Work with others
• Acquire use info
• Understand systems
• Work with technology

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SCANS

• Not just for the entry level

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The Reaction to SCANS

• New curriculum
• Focus on community colleges

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High Performance Workplace Needs High Performance
Workers

• Gaining the Competitive Edge
• New curriculum needed
• Interdisciplinary
• Collaborative
• Problem-solving

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Scans and the Community College

• The Forgotten Half Revisited (Halperin 1998)
• Most high schools dont directly teach SCANS
  skills
• It is up to us
• SCANS guidelines still reflect needs

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Updating SCANS What Employers Want

• 1997 Murname and Levy
• 9th grade reading
• 9th grade math
• problem-solving
• written oral communication
• ability to work with diversity
• Familiarity with computers

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Voices from Main Street What rates very
important?

• Verbal communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Written communication

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Canada too

• What are the most important skills and qualities
  in new recruits?
• Written communication skills
• Flexibility

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AACC Top 7 Skills for Communication

• Interpret/read
• Use proper grammar
• Give oral directions
• Use the telephone
• Use word processing
• Prepare short reports

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NCSU

• Highest rated skills were communications and work
  ethics

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Wake Tech SurveyOral Communication Skills

• Telephone
• Customer relations
• Interpersonal
• Teamwork
• Technical briefings

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Wake Tech SurveyWritten Communication Skills

• All employers agreed theyre important
• e-mail
• Fill-in-the blank reports
• Microsoft Office package

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Interviews Many Steps

• Scan
• Telephone screen
• On-site application
• Face-to-face--30 minutes to one hour

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Interviews

• Typical questions
• What to avoid

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So now what?

• Employers can be choosy.
• We motivate students.
• We develop assignments that teach them the skills
  they will need on the job.

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Exercise First Group

• Draw a V and an upside down T.

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Second Group

• When you are finished, your picture should look
  like a martini glass.
• Draw a V and an upside down T.

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Thanks for your attention.

• Any questions?