AMES, Iowa -- Getting and keeping a job is easier when employees know how to handle their emotions, communicate well and function effectively in the workplace. These “soft” skills lead to workplace strengths.

That’s why teachers use Iowa State University Extension’s Employment Basics curriculum in job readiness classes with high school and community college students, juvenile offenders and people in vocational rehab centers. They’re building skills in Iowa’s future workforce, preparing them for employment.

Ted Crawford uses the Employment Basics curriculum in the employability skills course he teaches at Hampton-Dumont High School. He said, “I would encourage any high school in the state of Iowa to use it.”

Employment Basics addresses the necessary employability skills outlined in the Iowa Core Curriculum, the state’s core content standards for K-12 students, said Brenda Schmitt, an ISU Extension family resource management specialist. Those skills include communicating and working productively with others, adapting to various roles and responsibilities, and demonstrating initiative and self-direction.

Schmitt and other ISU Extension family resource management specialists train teachers in using Employment Basics with Iowa’s future workers. However, ISU Extension specialists also use the curriculum to build skills in Iowa’s current workforce.

“Not long ago, employers could expect that even entry-level employees would have acquired a basic work ethic during their childhood, secondary schooling and summer or after-school jobs,” Schmitt said. “They would understand the importance of reporting on time, focusing on work, following directions and personal accountability. But today, many new hires lack those basics.”

Today’s economic and business climate presents a bigger challenge to Iowans looking for employment, making it even more important that people develop soft skills, Schmitt said. These personal qualities, traits, attitudes and social graces help make a person a good employee and a compatible co-worker — and these skills make a difference in getting and keeping a job.

Extension adapted Employment Basics from Workplace Essentials, a soft skills curriculum developed by Iowa Workforce Development, ISU Extension and the Department of Human Services. To learn more about Employment Basics, contact an ISU Extension family resource management specialist.

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