Slides from a talk Dr. Matthew Hora gave on 3/7/19 at the UW-Madison Careers Conference about integrating soft skills into workplace training.

1. UW-Madison Employee Career Conference
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Matthew T. Hora, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Liberal Arts & Applied Studies, Division of Continuing Studies
Director, Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions, WCER, School of Education
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Email: matthew.hora@wisc.edu Twitter:@matt_hora @UWMadisonCCWT Web: ccwt.wceruw.org
Slide deck posted on: www.slideshare.net
Strategies for Integrating Transferable or
“Soft Skills” into Training Programs

2. Today’s Workshop
1. Review theory, evidence of transferable and “soft skills”
2. Importance of surfacing discipline- or occupation-specific
views of these skills
3. Key principles for effective communication and teamwork,
and strategies for training
4. Leave workshop with new ideas, approaches & questions for
training communication & teamwork

3. 1st Course Offering: 40 students from around the world
https://continuingstudies.wisc.edu/classes/teach-soft-skills-
college-courses-certificate/
Workshop based on new online course for educators/trainers
Integrating insights from the learning sciences, skills/workforce research, instructional reform

4. 1. What exactly are “soft” or transferable skills?
History of the term
“Important job-related skills that involve little or no interaction with machines and whose
application on the job is quite generalized”
Source: Whitmore & Fry, 1972
Soft skills: Desirable qualities for certain forms of
employment that do not depend on acquired knowledge:
they include common sense, the ability to deal with
people, and a positive flexible attitude
Source: www.dictionary.com
Alternative constructs
Non-cognitive Skills
Labor Economics
Career Readiness
NACE
21st Century Skills
P21
Essential Employability Qualities
QA Commons

5. NRC’s framework: 21st Century Competencies
Types of Competencies
Key Ideas: 21st century competencies
Dimensions of expertise specific to and
intertwined with knowledge of particular domain
Necessity for “deeper learning” to effectively
teach/train these competencies
Cognitive: cognitive processes, knowledge, creativity
Inter-personal: Teamwork and collaboration, leadership
Intra-personal: Positive core self-evaluation, work ethic
and conscientiousness, intellectual openness
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2

6. All educators
(n=49)
Manufacturing
Employers (n=59)
Biotech
Employers (n=7)
Term Salience Term Salience Term Salience
Technical ability 0.381 Work ethic 0.338 Experience on job 0.345
Work ethic 0.257 Technical ability 0.342 Lifelong learning 0.301
Technical
knowledge 0.238
Technical
knowledge 0.302 Technical ability 0.227
Problem solving 0.232 Lifelong learning 0.144 Communication 0.226
Teamwork 0.204 Problem solving 0.132 Problem solving 0.182
Communication 0.183 Adaptable 0.132 Work ethic 0.163
Critical thinking 0.156 Interpersonal 0.112 Detail oriented 0.153
Innovative 0.154 Attitude 0.112 Self motivated 0.150
Detail-oriented 0.145 Teamwork 0.112 Background 0.149
Lifelong learning 0.103 Communication 0.111
Technical
knowledge 0.141
Evidence from the field: Educators and Employers in WI
Source: Benbow, R., & Hora, M.T. (2018). Reconsidering college student employability: A cultural analysis of educator
and employer conceptions of workplace skills. Harvard Educational Review, 88 (4), 483-515.

7. We spend a lot of time here so having people that are just
horses asses for a lack of a better word - we just don't want
them here…
(a) because it's a pain to be around them, and (b) it takes
away the meaningful discussions and the problem solving,
which is basically what we do here.
Manufacturing supervisor, La Crosse, WI
Image Source: https://www.bmwusfactory.com

8. Issues to consider when training these skills
These skills are not easy or “soft” to teach and learn
Views of these skills are shaped by culture, race, gender and class
Views of these skills may be largely tacit, unconscious, habituated
Key problem: Skills are too often viewed as generic, de-
contextualized “bits” of competency
The skills discourse places responsibility solely on student/employee
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9. 2. Importance of identifying discipline- or job-specific
views of these skills - the case of communication
Health Care (n=47) Energy (n=49)
Understanding 19 22
Teamwork 18 15
Seeing big picture 11 3
Translating jargon 12 13
Safety 12 10
Teaching 9 7
Source: https://www.wcer.wisc.edu/publications/working-papers; soon to be published in American Educational Research Journal (AERJ)
Source: Darling, A. L., & Dannels, D. P. (2003). Practicing engineers talk about the importance of talk: A report on the role of oral communication in the workplace.
Communication Education, 52(1), 1-16.

10. How views of communication are embedded within
specific situations and contexts: Novices
Graph density: 0.119
Emphasis on
establishing inter-
subjectivity (via Q&A/
listening) among team
members from different
role groups to ensure
safety

11. How views of communication are embedded within
specific situations and contexts: Experts/educators
Graph density: 0.326
Emphasis on: (1)
establishing inter-
subjectivity (via Q&A/
listening, jargon
translation, standardized
terminology) among team
members from different
role groups to ensure
safety,(2) conveying
awareness of big picture,
(3) in doing so,
advocating for patient/
empathy

12. How situated views of a single competency vary
between novice/experts within a profession

13. 3a. A closer look: Communication Skills
Different modes of communication (oral, written, digital) often near top of lists
ABET General Criteria 3: Student Outcomes
(d) an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams
(g) an ability to communicate effectively
https://www.naceweb.org/about-us/press/2017/the-key-attributes-employers-seek-on-students-resumes/
#1 Problem Solving (82.9%)
#2 Teamwork (82.9%)
#3 Written Communication (80.3%)
#7 Oral Communication (67.5%)
The five elements of rhetoric taught to generations of elite scholars in
the West—memory, arrangement, invention, style, and delivery.

14. Communication genre
A communication genre is a linguistic and rhetorical convention or action
linked to commonly held goals of a community (Swales, 2009)
Communication as a situated activity
“What these courses do not do is help students understand the
particular, situated communication expectations for your discipline… you
know your discipline. You are the expert in what it means to
communicate competently and coherently for your audiences.”
(Dannels, Palmerton & Gaffney, 2017, p.33)
Key idea: Genre and Situation
Source: http://photoblog.statesman.com/sweet-home Source: https://www.grc.org/ Source: https://www.thegentlemansjournal.com/a-
gentlemans-guide-to-a-wedding-speech/

15. Think about a common oral communication genre for
an occupational group in your discipline or
department/unit.
Describe the genre, especially the setting and
conventions for the content and mode of delivery
group members consider acceptable.
Also consider if you’d want new employees to learn
this genre or if it is somehow problematic and should
be changed.
Write - talk w/person next to you -
2-3 people share w/room
Writing exercise

16. Key principles of communication education
Different levels and types of communicative activity exist
Levels: Inter-personal, intra-personal, group, organization, mass
Types: Oral, written, verbal, digital
Communication apprehension is real and painful
Articulate clear and specific learning goals for your training
Make sure to specify the level and type of communication
Select learning activities that meets these goals
Structured whole class discussion
Small group discussions
Solo presentations
Class or small group debates
Simulations and/or problem-based learning
Active listening is key
Demonstrating concern, paraphrasing, defer judgment, appropriate response

17. 1. Articulate specific learning goals: Effective and civil listening and argumentation
6 Steps for Training Oral Communication Skills
2. Document disciplinary or occupational genres and norms
• Debate about research design in research-oriented units is acceptable and desirable
3. Consider cultural constructions or facets of the skill
• Power and gender dynamics: Males and PI/Directors often have the final word
5. Model and demonstrate the skill: Demonstrate for the class what appropriate
listening and argumentation looks and sounds like
4. Provide direct instruction: Give short lecture about ground rules of debate,
how to be an active listener, etc.
6. Design interactive and realistic learning activity
•Teams debate pro and con position regarding an authentic workplace situation

18. Teams are social entities composed of members with high task interdependency and
shared and valued common goals (Dyer, 1984) ... they must integrate, synthesize, and
share information, and they need to coordinate and cooperate as task demands shift
throughout a performance episode to accomplish their mission.
(Salas, Cooke & Rosen, 2008, p. 540)
3b. A closer look: Teamwork Skills
Source: https://www.naceweb.org/about-us/press/2017/the-key-attributes-employers-seek-on-students-resumes/
Business & Management
Military Studies
Systems Engineering
Health Care
Inter-organizational Partnerships

19. Key principles of effective teams
Shared cognition/mental models
Clarity of task delegation/performance
Mutual accountability
Focus on process, not just product
Communication: listening, respect,
feedback, synthesis
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20. Ask them to write/report what they like-dislike about teamwork
Brainstorm qualities of effective team-member and team processes
Model effective (and ineffective) team behavior
Create authentic situation/case and let staff practice in real-time
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Steps for training staff in teamwork skills

21. Think about effective teams for an occupational group
in your discipline or department/unit.
Describe notable features of these effective teams,
especially the situation, issues related to team process
(e.g., leadership, decision-making, task delegation),
and accountability.
Write - talk w/person next to you -
2-3 people share w/room
Writing exercise

22. Parting Thought: “Soft” skills are becoming more
critical in the workplace
Automation and Non-Routinized Tasks
The Human Touch: Empathy, Humor, Rapport
Understanding and celebrating differences across race,
gender, class and culture

23. 1. Articulate specific skills needs and corresponding learning goals
6 Steps for Teaching & Training “Soft” Skills
2. Identify disciplinary or occupational genres and norms
3. Consider cultural constructions or facets of the skill
5. Model and demonstrate the skill
4. Provide direct instruction about key principles
6. Design interactive and realistic learning activity - PBL

24. Next Steps
Expanding College Internship Study (UW-Oshkosh, Univ Baltimore, FSU, Kyoto)
7-Week Online “Soft” Skills Course for Postsecondary Educators
(Division of Continuing Studies, UW-Madison)
NSF Study on 4 Skills in 4 Professions
Email: matthew.hora@wisc.edu Twitter:@matt_hora @UWMadisonCCWT Web: ccwt.wceruw.org
Slide deck posted on: www.slideshare.net
http://empower.wceruw.org/#/