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Because the ability to manage one's health is critical to going to school, learning, and transitioning into employment, the US Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) commissioned this study in 2012 to better understand the relationship between disability (including chronic health conditions), health and wellness, and transition and employment outcomes for youth with disabilities. In addition, the study examined the role health-care providers play in establishing employment expectations. Show less

Soft skills are the employability skills that speak to a worker's interpersonal skills and character. Examples of soft skills are teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, and effective use of resources. Another commonly relied-upon soft skill is effective communication - not just around job-related tasks, but also around balancing work-life realities (e.g., caring for a young child, having a disability, past involvement with the justice system) that may affect workers in their efforts to obtain and sustain competitive employment. The need to coach new hires about soft skills is an accepted fact among employers and those who prepare individuals for the workforce. Soft skills are behaviors that must be internalized as a natural aspect of a person's repertoire of social skills and character attributes. Embedding within new workforce entrants the capacity to behave appropriately requires opportunities to experience and practice each new skill until they are well within each worker's comfort zone. There are three common methods for creating opportunities for experiential learning of soft skills. One is interactive teaching, through which instructors facilitate exercises that provide opportunities for experience, practice, reinforcement, and reflection. The second method for teaching soft skills experientially is to use a coach in a workplace setting. The third method is to alter aspects of the classroom setting where general education or hard skills are being taught to workforce entrants so that the classroom simulates the workplace. This approach for teaching soft skills can be universally applied to have maximum impact on soft-skill deficits among youth without new legislation, additional money, or new players. It just requires knowing how. This paper describes various aspects of soft skills development.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less