Looking to stand out from the crowd at work?

Humber College can help with its offering of rapid skills courses that allow employees to build and improve the soft skills that can help set them apart from their work peers.

While most workplaces require a specific set of technical skills in their employees, soft skills such as communication, organization, time management, and critical thinking, just to name a few, are essential skills regardless of the industry.

Sylvia Franklin, change, learning and communications manager with Continuous Professional Learning at Humber, says soft skills are extremely relevant to those looking to advance their careers.

“These courses are about learning critical skills and being able to go to work the next day and apply them,” said Franklin. “Learners can say ‘I know how to listen better, I know how to communicate better, I know how to present better.’ That’s what these courses are about, and anyone can take them.”

Franklin notes that many workplaces include soft skills in employee performance reports, and these are also frequently part of employee professional development plans.

Humber offers a wide assortment of rapid skills courses, and many are designed to improve soft skills.  

For example, the Working with Empathy course is particularly relevant considering the upheaval and stresses that many workers faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adapting to working remotely without the usual in-person connections many had prior to the pandemic has been difficult and this course teaches learners how to use empathy to forge better relationships and have improved results at work.

Influencing Skills is another course that can have positive benefits for learners. It teaches how to apply influencing skills more effectively and how individuals can adapt their approach to different people and situations to achieve better results while also strengthening relationships.

“If you're able to influence others in an effective way that makes everybody feel good, clearly you're going to stand out,” said Franklin.

These courses are open to anyone who wants to learn new skills that have the potential to help them reach their career goals. Many are about 3.5 hours in length and are offered virtually by instructors who are industry professionals with years of experience in corporate training.

They’re interactive, include feedback from the instructors and, upon completion, learners will receive a certificate of participation. Many are slated to start in August and into the fall.

While some may think these skills might only be relevant to those in white collar jobs, Franklin points to the Soft Skills for Technical Professionals course. It’s designed for technical professionals, engineers, tradesmen, IT professionals, shop floor supervisors, and team leads who communicate and collaborate with customers or coworkers from different departments.

Franklin said those who take the course are blending their technical abilities with other important skills, including communication and interpersonal skills, that can help them become more effective members of their department.

To learn more or to register, visit Humber’s Rapid Skills for Professionals website.