Chapter 1: Introduction

For some years now, employers have been remarking that new graduates from Canadian college programs are exceptionally well trained in technical and vocational skills. The problem, say the employers, is that new graduates are lacking in the Essential Skills.

Sometimes called Employability Skills or soft skills, the Essential Skills are workplace skills that can often make the difference between an employee achieving competence in the workplace or achieving excellence in the workplace. That's because all jobs are made up of more than just technical skills.

Across the country, Essential Skills are being taught in college classrooms, labs and shops. Often, instructors are not aware that the soft skills they are teaching are called Essential Skills. But using teaching strategies like working in groups, and assessing students on workplace skills like punctuality and appropriate appearance, and even having students make a presentation in class, are all examples of Essential Skills being taught in the classroom. The issue is whether learners are helped to make the link between Essential Skills in the classroom and Essential Skills in the workplace.

While instructors may teach Essential Skills, most often these skills are subtly integrated within the curriculum rather than explicitly taught as essential workplace skills. One issue that arises from teaching essential skills implicitly within the curriculum is that it becomes the responsibility of the learner to figure out how a classroom skill, like solving a problem or working in a group,  translates to action in the workplace.

The case studies in this EBook provide examples of how instructors at Canadian colleges teach Essential Skills very directly in their classrooms. Examples come from a wide range of disciplines and a number of diffeent colleges, making it easy to see how Essential Skills can be part of any classroom teaching and learning experience.