Talking to customers. Explaining a task. Dressing for a job. Interviewing for a job. Arriving at work on time. Being respectful.
These all may seem like common sense skills, but national studies and research routinely find those and other so-called soft skills to be severely lacking in job applicants.
No greater evidence of this trend can be found than a recent study that reported that as much as 25% of Generation Z job applicants have brought a parent with them to a job interview in the past year.
But that is just one aspect of the decline of soft skills. A Stepstone Group’s analysis of job advertisements found a 190% increase in emphasis on soft skills in recent years. A June 2024 Forbes.com article reported that a study of approximately 8,000 college graduates found they lack communication, collaboration, strategic and critical thinking skills, as well as possess a lower ability to build relationships.
But this is not the case for the vast majority of Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education (CTE) program graduates.
These so-called “soft skills” are part-and-parcel of every program taught at BOCES.
“I have learned so many skills, such as being independent, responsible, and working well with other peers,” said Antonio Servidone-Curtis, a class of 2024 Entertainment Technology graduate from Mohonasen.
Whether they are enrolled in the Digital Media Design, Automotive Trades Technology or any of the 28 programs offered at CTE, students learn management, communication, interviewing and workplace soft skills. These skills are then tested and evaluated by not only faculty and staff members, but also some of the 300 business and education partners who frequent the career and technical school campuses.
Students periodically take part in mock interviews, where business leaders interview them for jobs. Students are asked standard interview questions — “Why do you want this job?”, “Why should I hire you?” “What do you enjoy doing?” etc. and “What are your future plans?”
The idea, said Capital Region BOCES Managing Program Coordinator-Business & Community Partnerships Nancy Liddle, is for the students to gain the “valuable experience” of taking part in an interview before the interview actually matters.
Many students credit their classes with teaching them valuable time management and communication skills
“I learned time management, organization skills, and many other skills that are important,” said Class of 2024 Digital Media Design graduate Ezekiel Buckmire from Schenectady.
Fellow class of 2024 scholar Hope Caufield, an Automotive Trades Technology graduate, concurred.
“I have learned both soft and technical skills that I will use for the rest of my life. Such soft skills include the ability to network, time management skills, and critical thinking skills,” said the Schalmont High School graduate.
Students also learn how to work well with people they may not have traditionally associated with.
“I have learned how to work with other people of different backgrounds and ideas. I have learned how to find a career and how to get a job. These are all great skills to have,” said Cole Cookingham, 2019 Schalmont High School graduate from the [former] Heavy Equipment/Commercial Construction program.
Employers and employment professionals say the training pays off.
“These are some very polite kids. A lot of people came right out and shook hands and thanked you. We never see that anymore,” said Package One representative Ben Croupe.
“Career and Tech students have not only the job-specific skills, but the soft skills, the interview skills, time management, respect for the employer, and respect for themselves going into college or career that others are lacking,” said Elizabeth Fordley, educational director for the New York State Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.
Dustin Cuoco, service manager for Mohawk Heating and Cooling, said “Our top three techs are Capital Region BOCES and Hudson Valley Community College grads.”