This document summarizes a presentation about teaching soft skills and work ethics. It discusses how employers desire people with soft skills like punctuality, appropriate appearance, willingness to learn, ability to work cooperatively with others, and good work habits. It defines work ethics and explains why they are important for workplace success. The presentation suggests work ethics can be developed through experiences like home life, school, work, role models, and structured training programs that include goal setting, skill building, feedback, and reinforcement. It concludes by proposing various ideas for incorporating work ethics training, such as teaching it in schools, career centers, GED programs, and with social services recipients.

1. Teaching Soft Skills…
Is it Really Possible?
Presentation for the
North East Regional Employment and
Training Association
By Joanie Stephen
Smart Work Ethics

2. If you ignore it--
it just gets worse

3. Work Ethics
Soft Skills

4. “They don’t show up on time.”
“They aren’t dressed appropriately.”
“And sometimes they don’t show up at all.”
Business and Industry continue to say…

5. Employers are looking for
people who:
• Want to work
• Who have an understanding of workplace
responsibilities
• Who are willing to learn and grow
• Who can work cooperatively with others, and
• Who are disciplined and motivated in their
work habits
In other words, someone with “WORK ETHICS”

6. What are Work Ethics?
Why are they necessary?
Who needs them?
How do people get them?

7. Work Ethic
A motivating belief that employees owe their employer a full
day of diligent work including following their supervisor’s
instructions.
Courtesy
The habitual use of “Please,” “Thank you,” “Excuse me,” and
“May I help you?” in dealing with customers, supervisors,
and colleagues.
Teamwork
The ability to share responsibilities, confer with others, honor
commitments, help others do their jobs, and seek help when
needed.
Purdue University lists
Soft Skills as:
PURDUE
UNIVERSITY
Responsibility

8. Why are “Work Ethics”
Important?
Impacts production
Enhance workplace environment
Creates the culture of the workplace
Allows employees to move up the career ladder

9. What Happens When Your
Workforce Doesn’t Have
Work Ethics?
Perceived problem that a workforce is not
available
Classes for hard skills unfilled
Lack of enrollment in tech programs
Harder to learn hard skills
Causes higher unemployment
Creates high turnover
Impacts production

10. How Do You Get a
Quality Workforce?
Identify Workforce
Presently employed—but problem
employee
Unemployed
School graduates
Future school graduates

11. So, where do you “get” work ethics?
Home School
Work
Role Model
--Sports or other
activities

12. What about the person who has
never been taught work ethics?

13. If you ignore it,
it just gets worse.

14. State governments have great
programs and doors are opened
every day.
However, the open door sometimes
feels like . . .

18. Work Ethics
Resume and Interview Skills
Job Skills
Mentoring
Present
Workforce
SUCCESS

19. Understanding Strengths and Stressors
Attitude
Punctuality and Attendance
Appearance
Cognitive Skills
Interpersonal Skills
Time Management
Goal Setting
Self Management
Working with a Difficult Boss
So, let’s talk about work ethics.
What do we really mean?
Personal
Responsibility

20. Work Ethic
A motivating belief that employees owe their employer a full
day of diligent work including following their supervisor’s
instructions.
Courtesy
The habitual use of “Please,” “Thank you,” “Excuse me,” and
“May I help you?” in dealing with customers, supervisors,
and colleagues.
Teamwork
The ability to share responsibilities, confer with others, honor
commitments, help others do their jobs, and seek help when
needed.
Purdue University lists
Soft Skills as:
PURDUE
UNIVERSITY

21. We need an “out of the box” solution

23. E-learning
Videos (DVD)
Motivational Speaker
http://www.act.org/products/workforce-act-national-
career-readiness-certificate/

24. The Small Steps Necessary
Training
Building on skill development
Goal setting
Celebrating successes
Reinforcements
Movement to the next step
--successful employment

25. TRAINING
Telling is not training
Orientation
Policy Manual
Supervisor Instruction
Employee Meetings
Motivational Speakers

26. Training Must Include
Experiential Activities
Tell them what you are going to have
them do -- and why
Have them do what you want them to do
Have them report on their experience

27. Effective training must
* Engage the person
* Create interest
* Provide relevance
If it does not do these things then it
is like going to a foreign film and not
being able to read the subtitles.

28. Build On Each Skill
Introduce the skill
Give them a point of reference
When introducing new skills refer
back to other learned skills and
show how they connect.

29. It is just like telling a child to
“Go clean your room.”
If they have never cleaned their room then
it is a good idea to start with:
Hang up all the clean clothes that are
in your room
Then: Put all the shoes away in the closet
Then: Pick up all the dirty clothes and
put them in the dirty clothes hamper
Then: Make your bed

30. Encourage Success
Feedback is important
Trainer feedback
Participant feedback
Reinforcement program
Tangible reinforcers
Social reinforcers

31. Reinforcement Program
Behavioral reinforcement is used to
create change.
Reinforcement refers to methods of
strengthening behaviors so that they will
increase, or will continue, to be performed.
Use:
• Tangible reinforcers
(material objects)
• Social reinforcers (attention, praise,
approval and acknowledgement)

32. Reinforcers are used to
 Create interest
 Encourage enthusiasm
 Take ownership
They are designed to move participants from
classroom reinforcements to natural
reinforcements
 Job retention
 Promotions
 Pay raises

35. Some critics of behavioral methods have
argued that individuals should perform desirable
behaviors simply because of their intrinsic value.

36. “They just need to pull themselves
up by their bootstraps”
“They don’t want to work”
“They feel entitled.”

37. Except for behaviors that satisfy our basic
physiological needs, such as eating or sleeping,
the value of all behaviors is learned.
Participants in a Work Ethics program will
learn that increased work ethic can lead to:
• Increased job retention
• Fewer work place problems
• Increased productivity
• Promotions
• Pay raises

38. Consider These Ideas!
Teach Work Ethics in schools
(Grade/s ?)
Teach Work Ethics to everyone who
comes to the Career Centers/
One Stops
Teach Work Ethics at the
beginning of the GED programs

39. Consider These Ideas continued
Teach Work Ethics with
company orientations
Teach Work Ethics with
juvenile probation programs
Teach Work Ethics with
re-entry programs

40. Consider These Ideas continued
Teach Work Ethics at
every Community College
Teach Work Ethics with
every Technical College
Teach Work Ethics to
applicants for Pell Grants/
student loans

41. Consider These Ideas continued
Teach Work Ethics with
Ready-to-Work programs
Teach Work Ethics with
Housing Board recipients
Teach Work Ethics in the
Foster Child Independent Living
Program

42. Consider These Ideas continued
Teach Work Ethics with
Big Brothers Big Sisters Programs
Teach Work Ethics to Job Corps
participants
Teach Work Ethics…

43. What can be done
TODAY
• Acknowledge the need for a new
approach to Work Ethics training
• Incorporate a program for Work Ethics
in the schools/prisons/GED programs, etc.
• Create the change necessary to provide
states with a stable and strong workforce
• Train the present workforce in Work Ethics
• Train the incoming workforce in Work Ethics

46. REALLY GREAT RECIPE
Serves 6
12 Ounces thick-sliced bacon
Kosher salt
Vegetable oil
1 pound small pasta, such as cavatappi
1 quart whole milk
8 tablespoons butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
12 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
6 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
½ cup Rioja wine
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
5 slices French bread, crusts removed
¼ cups chopped fresh basil leaves

48. SHOPPING LIST
Cavatappi
Gruyere cheese
Extra-sharp cheddar cheese
Blue cheese
Nutmeg
Basil
Rioja

52. So, what do we end up with?

53. Or this….

54. You can provide an “out of the box”
solution.

55. REALLY GREAT RECIPE
Serves 20
Attendance
Critical Thinking
Commitment
Good Attitude
Dependability
Goal Setting
Time Management
Punctuality
Self Management
Appearance
Good Work Ethic
And ……

56. Facilitator Training
Participant Manual
All Classroom Materials
All Reinforcements
Coaching
SHOPPING LIST

57. It’s time to get started!