Knowing how to communicate, dealing with conflict, practicing proper office etiquette, working in a team—these are a few of the soft skills that turn a good employee into a great one. However, soft skills are not easily taught because, for many of us, these are habits that we’ve been practicing our whole life.
Luckily, Chris Fortune, our FOCUS program director, has been teaching soft skills for quite a while. Part of Gateway graduates’ success stems from the at least 16 hours of instruction Chris provides. It changes depending on the industry; soft skills for the future construction employee will look different than soft skills for the Certified Nurse Aide.
This year, after hearing time and time again from employers that their workplace would be a better place to work if employees’ soft skills improved, we are opening Chris’ program up to those businesses, nonprofits, schools, community organizations, professional groups, etc. that need to up the soft skills at the office. Thus, FOCUS Professional Development Services was born. Learn more about the program on the FOCUS page. If you would like additional information, contact Chris at cfortune@skillpointalliance.org.