4.4: Critical Skills Required of the Canadian Workforce
The following Employability Skills Profile was created by the Conference Board of Canada.
Academic Skills
Those skills which provide the basic foundation to get, keep and progress in a job and to achieve the best results
Canadian employers need a person who can:
Communicate:
- Understand and speak the languages in which business is conducted
- Listen, understand and learn
- Read, comprehend and use written materials, including graphs, charts and displays
- Write effectively in the languages in which business is conducted
Think
- Think critically and act logically to evaluate situations, solve problems and make decisions
- Understand and solve problems involving mathematics and use the results
- Use technology, instruments, tools and information systems effectively
- Access and apply specialized knowledge from various fields (e.g. skilled trades, technology, physical sciences, arts and social sciences)
Learn
- Continue to learn for life
Personal Management Skills
The combination of skills, attitudes and behaviours required to get, keep and progress in a job and to achieve the best results.
Canadian employers need a person who can demonstrate:
Positive Attitudes and Behaviours
- Self-esteem and confidence
- Honesty, integrity and personal ethics
- A positive attitude toward learning, growth and personal health
- Initiative, energy and persistence to get the job done
Responsibility
- The ability to set goals and priorities in work and personal life
- The ability to plan and manage time, money and other resources to achieve goals
- Accountability for actions taken
Adaptability
- A positive attitude toward change
- Recognition of and respect for people’s diversity and individual differences
- The ability to identify and suggest new ideas to get the job done -- creativity
Teamwork Skills
- Those skills needed to work with others on a job and to achieve the best results
Canadian employers need a person who can:
Work with Others
- Understand and contribute to the organization’s goals
- Understand and work within the culture of the group
- Plan and make decisions with others and support the outcomes
- Respect the thoughts and opinions of others in the group
- Exercise “give and take” to achieve group results
- Seek a team approach as appropriate
- Lead when appropriate, mobilizing the group for high performance
 Continue to: "Soft Skills" Exercise >>
|
