CCRI program teaches ‘soft’ skills needed for work

15 adults earning GEDs learn business etiquette

It’s not getting the job that guarantees success – it’s keeping it.

That, at least, is the idea behind the Community College of Rhode Island’s new Work Readiness Program.

Every week for two months, 15 local GED students – some of whom have been identified as the “chronically underemployed” – met at the Florence Gray Senior Center in Newport to perfect their job-seeking savvy and hone the practical “soft skills” they need to achieve success in the business world.

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“I can train you to be a welder, I can train you to be a composite boat builder, I can train you to be a teaching assistant,” said Joanne Galliano, coordinator for CCRI’s Division for Lifelong Learning. “But if you don’t have those other common-sense skills, you’re not going to keep that job very long.”

The class, which met for two hours every week, and graduated on Thursday, focused on the simple – but vital – details that can maintain employment. That includes exhibiting proper body language, arriving at work on time and treating co-workers and managers with respect.

They also discussed bigger-picture skills, too, such as creating résumés and cover letters, networking and meeting on-the-job deadlines.

The training program, which will start another rotation in January, was supported by a federal Community Development Block Grant through the city of Newport.

Some participants are students at CCRI, Galliano said; others are working toward their general educational development diploma through the Newport-based family literacy program Even Start.

Students in the class were of mixed demographics, according to instructor Camille Vella-Wilkinson. Some have a “checkerboard” work history, she said; others are single parents forced to juggle work and a family life.

As part of the 30-hour program, students were encouraged to start a “career transition center” in their homes and come up with “B-plans” to deal with mini-disasters. Those plans would be followed, for example, if their car broke down or their child became sick or missed the school bus.

“Some of [the class was] very rudimentary,” Vella-Wilkinson said. “But it’s critical,” she said, because people often dazzle in the interview but flounder on the job. They’re just not equipped with the survival skills to excel.

“The rubber meets the road when [candidates] transition into a full-time position,” she explained. “It’s not going to do them any good if they’re submitting a résumé and succeeding in an interview, and four months later they’re back on the street again.”

Galliano agreed, saying that ignorance and lack of understanding are often to blame for failure in the work environment. Many people simply don’t understand that a certain code of conduct has to be observed in the workplace, she said.

“There are only so many times you can call in sick on the morning of work,” she said.

“The world of business does not operate the way it does on television.”
The CCRI program also encouraged participants to look at the job market in a practical way, she said, by preparing them for what they should expect in an entry-level job.

Recent graduates often expect – unrealistically – to instantly snag a well-paying job within 10 miles of their home. So sometimes, they can be crushed when they finally start seeking employment, she said.

“You’re not going to be making, $60,000, $70,000, $80,000 a year right out of college,” she said. “People graduate every day and don’t get a job because they’re not willing to travel an hour to Boston, or they didn’t realize how low the salary was.”

As part of the program, students also mapped out their strengths and weaknesses and applied them to the kinds of careers they’d like to pursue, she said. For instance, if they’re not a “people person,” she said, they shouldn’t seek out a front-desk job; if they’re not a morning person, they shouldn’t apply for positions that start at 8 a.m.
“If you know these things about yourself, you can start making some choices that will make you more successful,” she said.

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