Is Your Focus on Career & Technical Education? (CTE)

For ten years as a CTE (Career & Technical Education) teacher, I watched my most successful and promising students struggle to transition to the workforce.  How could this be?!

Brian with His Uber-Talented Co-Moderator, Julia Dalrymple and one of their State Champions, Jessie Smude. Jessie Went on to Be a Long-Time Intern and Is Now a Full-Time Employee with SOAR!

Many successful students are struggling to transition to the workforce. How can this be?!

These students had high GPAs, high SAT/ACT scores, and won numerous awards and scholarships.  They were even recognized on stage during international competitions in their field (e.g. DECA, BPA, FCCLA, etc.).  However, these students would return to me years after graduating from high school (regardless of the training/college education they received) seeking advice on entering/advancing in the workforce.

Why Was This Happening?!?!

My CTE program, like many across the country had ample technology, teacher training, materials, and resources.  We met regularly with our Advisory Committee Board (professionals in the field volunteering their time to advise the teachers on the relevancy of our curriculum).  Our students were performing highly on nationally recognized assessments and competitions.  We had everything we needed, yet we were missing something…

After years of wondering what the missing piece was, research from around the globe is revealing a common theme… Our workforce (those in it and entering it), does not possess soft skills.

“Soft skills”, the term itself, sounds unimportant or optional, but we’re discovering it is critical.

Our workforce has strong technical skills, but that’s not enough.  We perform well on “tests”, have strong skills and credentials listed on resumes, but our skills in the area of teamwork, leadership, problem solving, and communication are lacking.  As a result, our workforce is struggling to lead us into the future.

A study of 500 CEOs revealed that 75% of career success is dependent on soft skills, leaving only 25% truly dependent of the technical skills that we focus on so heavily.  Another skills needs assessment on emerging sectors discovered that nearly 95% of the skills most needed of newly hired employees is soft skills.

Soft Skills Image

A study of 500 CEOs revealed that 75% of career success is dependent on soft skills!

In fact, “soft skills are the most influential factor in hiring decisions by employers, even above technical skills and credentials,” according to a study by JPMorgan Chase.

As CTE teachers, we only want the most for our students in preparing them for the workplace.  We gather the best materials we can, conduct research in our field, create relevant lessons, and teach them the skills they’ll need for employment.  That’s why I was so frustrated when I witnessed my top-performing students hitting a wall as they entered the workforce.  It seemed as though the students deserved more results from both their efforts as a student and mine as a teacher.

If That’s Not Frustrating Enough…

There’s constant pressure on CTE teachers to justify the value of their programs.  Core academic teachers rarely understand the importance of Career and Technical Education and often scoff at the flow of dollars in these programs.  Furthermore, CTE teachers as a whole are very aware that at a moment’s notice a slight change in the political winds could dry up the much needed additional funding to run these programs.

So, with all of these pressures, CTE teachers need their students to be successful… beyond just the tests and competitions, but in the true arena of the workplace.

If we’re truly committed to developing a sustainable, qualified, workforce pipeline, something has got to change.  We can’t teach the exact same curriculum in the exact same fashion and then expect different results…that is insanity.

So, the missing piece we must introduce, and quickly, is soft skills.  We need to teach students how to communicate, organize, plan, manage time/details/resources, think critically, and solve problems (without instructions).

Employers are begging for us to teach students these skills, and most teachers agree that these skills are important.  So, why aren’t we teaching these skills?

Simple, until now, we’ve never had a ready-to-go curriculum.  In the past, it was up to individual teachers to gather a myriad of resources while guessing which soft skills would be most useful in the workplace.


Our Solution

SOAR® Soft Skills has revolutionized instruction in soft skills!  (Also known as “study skills” in education.)  These skills are useful and applicable to students while automatically develop into soft skills in the work place.

SOAR®

The SOAR® Soft Skills Curriculum, teaches students how to effectively:

  • Identify students' strengths & “SuperPowers” (according to Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences)
  • Set goals
  • Establish priorities
  • Manage time
  • Organize papers, desks, lockers, & other space
  • Speak & listen effectively
  • Work with teachers & peers
  • Read and understand textbooks
  • Take notes
  • Study for tests
  • Write research papers
  • Prepare for presentations
  • Track long-term goals

The SOAR® curriculum is used in thousands of schools. SOAR® has been THE best-selling study skills book, in the world, since 2007!


Is Your Focus Also On…?

High School?

Special Education or RTI?

SOAR® Learning & Soft Skills Curriculum

The SOAR® Learning & Soft Skills curriculum includes our award-winning student workbook, student app, and popular Multi-Media Teacher's Guide. Explore the curriculum below...

RTI-SOL App&Books

Student App

Click here to access a video preview of the SOAR® Learning & Soft Skills Student App.

Multi-Media Teacher's Guide

Click here to access a video preview of the SOAR® Learning & Soft Skills Multi-Media Teacher's Guide.

Schedule Options for Teaching SOAR® 

Wondering what the best way to structure your study skills class is? Click here for ideas.

Interested in Training?

SOAR® Learning & Soft Skills offers a variety of training options to meet your needs. Click here to learn more.

Teacher Survey

Do the teachers at your school think “study skills” can help your students? Print this survey and find out.

What Grade Levels Benefit from SOAR®?

To see a continuum matching age-appropriate skills to grades 4-12, click here.

We Offer a 100% Money-Back Guarantee

guarantee-transpSOAR® Is Guaranteed to Provide:

  • a 0.5% GPA increase across your student body.
  • a 20% improvement in student confidence and attitude, as measured by the pre and post Study Skills Scorecard.
  • a 30% reduction in missing assignments.

…or we will issue a full refund, as part of our 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Pricing and Order Information

Click here to access updated pricing and ordering information.

Contact Us

Click here to contact us.

Get A Free Digital Review Copy

Fill out the form to the right to receive a preview of our award-winning SOAR® Learning & Soft Skills student book, student app, and Multi-Media Teacher's Guide.

Get a FREE Digital Review Copy

Includes Information on SOAR's #1 World-Wide, Best-Selling Learning & Soft Skills Curriculum

SK08182015

Free Study Skills
Curriculum Trial

digital-review-optin

Includes: SOAR Curriculum Trial
+ Brain Biology of Learning Videos

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

SOAR® in the News
The SOAR® Curriculum

The most critical learning, organizing, and communication skills needed for school. Learn more here.

Who’s Using SOAR®?
Guarantee on All SOAR® Products

Click here to learn more.