Employability Skills Training - Student Summer Skills Incentive Program
The Employability Skills Training program will prepare your summer student-employee — and you — for a better work experience. Students will attend a free two-day session where they will learn to demonstrate skills every employer wants to see, such as motivation, accountability, time management and adaptability. In an additional half-day session, employers will be provided with tools to reinforce those skills.
100% of employers and 95% of student-employees who took this training in 2018 said it was valuable and relevant to their work.
Who should register (eligibility)
The program is available to Student Summer Skills Incentive employers who:
- offer at least 12 weeks of summer employment
- provide enough ongoing supervision of the student-employees to fairly assess their performance
- send the student (or students) who have the least amount of work experience to Employability Skills Training near the start of their work term
- commit to having the student’s direct supervisor attend the employer workshop, sending their employee for two days of training near the start of their work term, and regularly assessing their employee
Sessions will be scheduled based on enrollment to accommodate your location and the start date for your student. Please let us know soon if you are interested.
About Employability Skills
Employability skills are the “soft skills” we all need to be successful in any workplace – the ability to communicate and work with other people, to be accountable for what we do and to adapt to change.
This training uses the 9 skills in the Employability Skills Assessment Tool (ESAT) developed by Truro-based Futureworx Society:
- accountability
- adaptability
- attitude
- confidence
- motivation
- presentation
- stress management
- teamwork
- time management
Employer Workshops
In April and May 2019, the employer workshops will offer an overview of the 9 employability skills, the way employees can demonstrate those skills in the workplace and an orientation to ESAT, which will help you and your student assess progress. The session will also include techniques to help you nurture the development of these skills in your summer student (and any employees).
Employee Workshops
The student workshops are on two consecutive days and will give your student-employees a more in-depth look into employability skills, how to demonstrate them, and how to use their time in the workplace to improve their skills.
The workshops will involve a mix of presentation, roleplay activities and personal reflections to help students learn. The sessions will be offered at regular intervals through May and June throughout the province. Ideally, you should send your student in their first or second week of employment.
Assessment
Using the ESAT tool, you and your student will assess their ability to demonstrate employability skills at the beginning of the work term, once or twice during the summer, and again at the end of the work term. The online tool will guide you through each of the 9 skills and create a graph that compares how you rated your employee and how they rated themselves
Wrap-up and Evaluation
Near the end of the summer, participants will gather to share experiences, reflect on what they have learned, and celebrate the successful completion of their training.
Express your interest
Please email us at empskills@novascotia.ca to express interest.
We will contact you to register once SKILL approvals are complete.
Contact Information
Phone: 902-722-5030
Email: empskills@novascotia.ca