Workforce Connections October 6, 2014

Bonnie Politz Independent Consultant Clare Ignatowski Senior Advisor, Youth & Workforce Development, USAID Obed Diener Youth and Workforce Specialist, FHI360 Laura Lippman Director, Education Program, Child Trends Rachel Carney Research Assistant, Youth Development, Child Trends Kristin Anderson Moore Senior Scholar and Director, Youth Development, Child Trends

About Child Trends Child Trends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center that improves the lives and prospects of children and youth by conducting high-quality research and sharing the resulting knowledge with practitioners and policymakers. childtrends.org We... 1.take a whole child/youth approach 2.study youth in the real world 3.want youth to flourish 4.value objectivity and rigor 5.pursue knowledge development and knowledge transfer

Motivation Obtaining employment and becoming financially independent is a critical component in the successful transition to adulthood. Yet, 75 million youth around the world are unemployed. Individual factors contribute to youth unemployment including technical, academic, and “soft skills”. Currently, there is a lack of consensus on which soft skills are the best investments for improving youth workforce outcomes, and how these skills are defined. To this end, Child Trends seeks to answer the question, “What soft skills are most important for workforce success?”

Framework for Linking Individual Skills to Workforce Success Technical Skills Academic Skills Soft Skills Employment Performance & Promotion Income Contextual Factors Family Schools Community Policies Job Availability Accessibility Training Violence or war Entrepreneurship

Reviewing the literature Asking experts & implementers Asking for your input today! Asking youth and employers Drawing conclusions across sources and perspectives: positive youth development, psychology, economics, employers, organizational development, and workforce development programming

Soft Skills Literature Empirical studies Employer Surveys Consensus Projects Other literature

Key foundational competencies for workforce success should: Predict workforce outcomes Be applicable across contexts and sectors Be malleable Important for all sectors, ages, contexts Important for specific groups, sectors, and contexts

Communication Problem solving/critical thinking/decision making Conscientiousness Teamwork Social competence Leadership Positive self-concept Extraversion Self-motivation “Hardworking” and Dependability Emotional stability [Neuroticism] Top Foundational Competencies Across All Workforce Outcomes

Employment Performance/Promotion Increased wages/Income Entrepreneurship Top Foundational Competencies by Workforce Outcome Conscientiousness Problem solving, critical thinking, decision making Social competence Emotional stability Communication Teamwork Self-control Self-motivation Leadership Positive self- concept Agreeableness Extraversion Openness to experience Conscientiousness Emotional stability Initiative taking Social competence Communication Self-motivation Adaptability Responsibility Positive self- concept Social competence Extraversion Emotional stability Conscientiousness Self-control Leadership Openness to experience Hardworking and dependability Communication Problem solving, critical thinking, decision making Teamwork Positive attitude Professionalism Leadership Hardworking and dependability Integrity, ethics Social competence Planful-ness, Management

Employment Performance/Promotion Increased wages/Income Entrepreneurship Top Foundational Competencies by Workforce Outcome Conscientiousness Problem solving, critical thinking, decision making Social competence Emotional stability Communication Teamwork Self-control Self-motivation Leadership Positive self- concept Agreeableness Extraversion Openness to experience Conscientiousness Emotional stability Initiative taking Social competence Communication Self-motivation Adaptability Responsibility Positive self- concept Social competence Extraversion Emotional stability Conscientiousness Self-control Leadership Openness to experience Hardworking and dependability Communication Problem solving, critical thinking, decision making Teamwork Positive attitude Professionalism Leadership Hardworking and dependability Integrity, ethics Social competence Planful-ness, Management

Assertiveness Future or goal orientation Creativity Learning or growth orientation Empathy

1. Are these the key competencies for workforce success?  Are any missing? Should any be dropped?  Are they in the right order? 2. How and where are these competencies relevant (or not relevant) to workforce success in various contexts? 3. Can training improve these competencies within your programs?  Can these be taught within your programs?  Are there certain competencies that are more difficult to develop?

Conduct youth focus groups and surveys of employers Incorporate input from today and from a symposium in December Final white paper on key foundational workforce competencies by early 2015 Complete a review of existing measures of these competencies in 2015 Thank you!

twitter/childtrendstwitter/childtrends Contact us: Laura Lippman Kristin Anderson Moore Rachel Carney

Contact us Obed Diener | Technical Specialist | FHI 360 |