Online Courses with Skill Orientation
People need a broad range of skills in order to contribute to a modern economy and take their place in the technological society of the twenty-first century. The ASTD study showed that through technology, the workplace is changing, and so are the skills that employees must have to be able to change with it.
The ASTD/DOL(*) study identified 16 basic skills (Carnevale, 1990) that the workplace of the future would need in the employee of the future.
As you take your courses, you may wonder how they are going to help you eventually "on the job." A good approach is to take a skills orientation. Think of your courses not only as ways of learning about particular subjects but also as learning experiences which refine a variety of specific skills. A bit of reflection will show that your courses, earlier work experiences, and hobbies are providing you with skills that later employers may value. If asked in a job interview how your education has prepared you for a specific job, you can be ready with some good answers, if you think about it beforehand.
The ASTD/DOL(*) study identified 16 basic skills (Carnevale, 1990) that the workplace of the future would need in the employee of the future.
As you take your courses, you may wonder how they are going to help you eventually "on the job." A good approach is to take a skills orientation. Think of your courses not only as ways of learning about particular subjects but also as learning experiences which refine a variety of specific skills. A bit of reflection will show that your courses, earlier work experiences, and hobbies are providing you with skills that later employers may value. If asked in a job interview how your education has prepared you for a specific job, you can be ready with some good answers, if you think about it beforehand.
| Learning to learn Foundation Skills (9)
|
Academic basics Reading Skills (7), Writing Skills (20), Computational Skills (8)
|
Communication Speaking Skills (4), Listening Skills (5)
|
Adaptability |
* The ASTD/DOL study of workplace basics was a major empirical study undertaken by a team of ten over 30 months which led to an ASTD/DOL report (1988) and a subsequent expanded book by the principal authors Carnevale, Gainer and Meltzer (1990) and the subsequent book by Carnevale on America and the new economy (1991). The three publications provide a substantial source of information on generic skills.
