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Hard Times
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Although high school seniors have missed many last-semester milestones due to the COVID-19 quarantine, they are learning valuable skills that will help them transition from secondary school to college and/or the workplace.
Lack of soft skills has long been a concern employers have of prospective employees. Local superintendents feel that this unprecedented world-wide event will help equip today’s students with broader levels of resiliency, flexibility, and time-management discipline, among other skills, than seniors of the past.
Soft Skills
Soft skills can be learned through experience and are often not taught. Longview ISD Superintendent, Dr. James Wilcox, during Longview Chamber of Commerce’s Solutions with Superintendents webinar on March 31, endorsed that theory: It has constantly been reinforced to our students that they are not going to graduate high school and go directly into the workforce and keep one job for thirty years with one skill. They’re going to have to retrain. They’re going to have reboot. They’re going to have to be flexible. They need to understand that change is inevitable and, no matter what they do, they have to be ready. They have to be flexible to change their career projection and move that comfort zone and accept that life is ever-changing. Resiliency is what is going to move someone forward, and I think this is just another step in reinforcing that. I don’t have concerns about our students making the transition because this is just one more thing to ready them for life. This is one more step that reinforces the flexibility and trainability that they are going to have to have the rest of their working career.
Define the Post-Pandemic World Work Skills Bridging the Talent Gap Employer Survey What does the new normal look like? Bridging the Talent Gap is an initiative sponsored by The Graduate! Network with the goal of helping employers, learning providers and other community stakeholders understand the challenges of ensuring a skilled workforce. This survey provides you the opportunity to define how your work is changing and adapting, and what the new skills need to be in the post-pandemic world. With your help, we can create programs to address our new reality, the new education needs, the new skill set needs. We have an opportunity to define skills and training opportunities for the adjusted future. This survey is even more important than when we started in January. Help define the skill set needs for our future, and let’s address those needs and identify training to produce a workforce that will move the Longview trade area forward!
[ TAKE THE SURVEY NOW! ] Survey is open until May 31, 2020
Come see what a locally-owned independent bank can do for you ...
“
I think our seniors going out into the workforce are
going to be better prepared than any of our recent graduates that have gone out into the workforce. They are getting a taste of grit, overcoming some odd things and difficult circumstances in life.” – Dr. Wayne Guidry, Superintendent of Spring Hill
As famous author, blogger, and CEO, Rachel Hollis, suggested as a way to come out of this quarantine better on the other side, “Look at this as an opportunity instead of a challenge.” These hard times are teaching valuable soft skills.
3700 Gilmer Road 202 Hollybrook Drive
903-759-0751 www.springhillbank.com
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R.E.A.C.H. REPORT 2020
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