Course Description
This course is designed to provide students with barriers to education and employment with the opportunity to develop workplace skills and behaviors that contribute to job success. It emphasizes the importance of the skills needed to enter working situations with improved confidence and to assertively handle employment related interpersonal situations. The focus of the course is to support students to practice job interview skills.
Course Content
Topics to be explored include:
- Effective communication utilizing assertiveness, active listening, paraphrasing, asking questions and awareness of nonverbal communication
- Giving and receiving positive and constructive feedback
- Workplace communication and employability skills
- Problem solving strategies
- Time management tools and strategies
- Preparing and responding to job interview questions
- Mindfulness
- Basic computer skills including formatting Microsoft Word documents and emailing
- Rights and responsibilities around disclosing a disability
Learning Activities
- Lecture
- Lab
- Role-plays
- Audiovisual media
Means of Assessment
Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. This is a mastery course.
Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, a successful student will be able to:
- Display/use effective communications.
- Engage in active listening.
- Differentiate between passive, aggressive and assertive communication.
- Demonstrate initiative, dependability and reliability on the job.
- Employ appropriate conversational skills with fellow students, coworkers and employers.
- Demonstrate respectful interactions in a diverse multi-cultural learning/work environment.
- Demonstrate cooperative workplace behaviours.
- Identify ways of demonstrating initiative on the job.
- Demonstrate problem-solving strategies.
- Demonstrate time-management strategies.
- Identify and demonstrate safe work practices as per WorkSafe BC guidelines.
- Prepare for a job interview.
- Present themselves at job interviews in a professional manner.
- Respond to interview questions by representing their strengths and specific industry skills.
- Ask relevant questions of potential employers.
Textbook Materials
Topic relevant material will be provided throughout the course.