CATEP Helping Faculty

Dropping soft/employability/transferable skills into existing classes can be somewhat daunting. Existing classes may be tightly structured with little time to spare for additional course material. The implementation of soft skills has to be accomplished through modification of the delivery method of the existing material. The NSF/ATE CATEP grant provides training and development activities in order to help faculty develop the techniques and ideas necessary to accomplish the goals. These activities include:

• Getting Results training (offered by SCATE)
  
  
• Visits to other campuses around the country to witness soft skills being taught
  
  
• Meetings and visits to/by local industry representatives to discuss the impact of soft skills in the workplace

In addition to professional development activities, faculty externships and Job Shadowing opportunities will be made available at convenient times. The externships and Job Shadowing will give the faculty valuable on-the-job experiences allowing them to experience – first hand – the value of soft skills in the workplace while nurturing and expanding industry contacts.

The soft (“employability”) skills referred to include:

• Verbal and written communication skills
  
  
• Critical thinking/problem-solving skills
  
  
• Teamwork and collaboration skills
  
  
• Contextual knowledge of work responsibilities
  
  
• Self-management/motivation skills

Initially, these soft (“employability”) skills are being added to ACC and Aims CIS118 class – MS Office products. This class is required for all CIS students and most other disciplines. This class was chosen for its commonality and application to all subjects and disciplines. Other CTE (Career and Technical Education) classes will be included in this program in future semesters.