This book is among the first of its kind to comprehensively examine the implementation of soft skills in universities in the developing country, Vietnam. The context is unique as the implementation is taking place within the distinctive socio-economic, cultural and political characteristics of the country, amidst several simultaneously-executed educational reforms. Tran lays down the foundation for discussion by providing readers with a comprehensive review of how soft skills implementation has come into existence in higher education across the globe, before diving into the implementation of soft skills in Vietnamese universities. He goes on to highlight the interesting differences in the conceptualization of soft skills between Vietnamese universities and those in the West. The book depicts and compares how university leaders and managers tackle contextual factors, submit to constraints enforced by political forces, and how they use institutional advantages available for implementation. It goes further to examine how personal and contextual factors affect teachers’ and students’ engagement with the implementation, and highlights the role of work-integrated learning and extra-curricular activities in developing soft skills for students. Finally, the book investigates the contribution of external stakeholders, such as alumni, employers, skills experts, and local authorities, to the implementation and obstacles that prevent their participation. This book will be a valuable reference for the implementation of soft skills in higher education around the world.

This book is among the first of its kind to comprehensively examine the implementation of soft skills in universities in the developing country, Vietnam. The context is unique as the implementation is taking place within the distinctive socio-economic, cultural and political characteristics of the country, amidst several simultaneously-executed educational reforms. Tran lays down the foundation for discussion by providing readers with a comprehensive review of how soft skills implementation has come into existence in higher education across the globe, before diving into the implementation of soft skills in Vietnamese universities. He goes on to highlight the interesting differences in the conceptualization of soft skills between Vietnamese universities and those in the West. The book depicts and compares how university leaders and managers tackle contextual factors, submit to constraints enforced by political forces, and how they use institutional advantages available for implementation. It goes further to examine how personal and contextual factors affect teachers’ and students’ engagement with the implementation, and highlights the role of work-integrated learning and extra-curricular activities in developing soft skills for students. Finally, the book investigates the contribution of external stakeholders, such as alumni, employers, skills experts, and local authorities, to the implementation and obstacles that prevent their participation. This book will be a valuable reference for the implementation of soft skills in higher education around the world.

This is a very timely book. With the world still reeling from the aftershocks of the global credit crunch . Professor M.S Rao offers a number of extremely useful maps to young people who need to navigate the territory of creating their own success in organizational life. He also offers practical help to the reader to develop the soft skills that are so vital in developing effective working relationships. - Anne Gimson, Managing Director, strategic Developments International Limited U.K. and Editor, Development & Learning in Organization An international journal. Here is a book which fills a certain vacuum, Professor M.S. Rao unravels the significance of soft skills and provides guidelines to acquire them. A must-read book for all aspiring managers. Vinod K. Dikshit Managing Editor Indian Edition, Leadership Excellence. The Direction in which education starts a man will determine his future . Plato Currently there is a wide chasm between the campus and the industry. There is vast gap between the art and the craft. The book helps in connecting the campus with the corporate by bridging the gap between the campus and the industry and by blending both the art and the craft. It helps you understand and appreciate both soft and hard skills. It differentiates between unemployability and unemployment. It enlightens you about the expectations of employers. It equips you with tools and techniques to enhance your employability. Finally it builds your confidence and competence to bag your coveted job. The book is divided into three sections. Section I deals with various aspects of soft skills and what constitutes soft skills. Section II outlines the current challenges in the Indian educational system. Section III emphasizes on overcoming the challenges. It unveils the secrets and strategies in enhancing employability. The book concludes that an integrated and coordinated approach by all the stakeholders such as educational institutions, educators, students, recruiters and parents is essential in enhancing employability among youth. The book is beneficial to all those who would like to enhance their employability skills and also to educators, employees, educational institutions, recruiters and above all students.

I was hired by a major university to teach recently released offenders how to become employed. I walked into my first class intending to follow the lead of all the other job training programs in the city, which was teaching the students to properly fill out applications, write resumes, facilitate mock interviews, and locate employment opportunities. After the first couple of classes, most of the students were either not paying attention or sleeping. I quickly realized my presentation needed to be interesting, challenging, beneficial, and actually guide the participants on how to remain employed. However, I was unable to find any published material for teaching new hires the soft skills necessary to keep a job. This workbook is a compilation of the soft skills class material I have developed over an eighteen year period. I have used this material with great success and have taught soft skills in schools, inner-city church programs, nonprofits, and government funded job training programs. It is a unique collection of essays, exercises, quotes, and maxims that will give students a realistic perspective on work-related expectations and the expectations of the supervisors who hire them. It will help students develop their problem solving skills, guide them in making appropriate decisions, and create a desire to plan out goals and achieve them. The workbook style is challenging and playful, serious and engaging and a stepping stone to developing the cognitive skills necessary to quash unproductive thinking and self-defeating emotional behaviors.

This book examines how industry-desired employability skills—or “soft skills”—are taught and learned in high school career and technical education (CTE) engineering and engineering technology programs. Identifying, recruiting, and keeping workers with strong personal and interpersonal skills is a constant challenge for STEM employers who need to hire young workers to replace an aging technical workforce. To answer the call, teachers interviewed explained that they maintain regimented daily classroom routines that include individual and small group hands-on activities and projects. In turn, their students explain learning personal responsibility, work ethic, teamwork, leadership, conflict management, and social skills in the classroom. Narratives from the workforce and classroom interweave to put employability skills frameworks into action.

Soft Skills for the Workplace is a nontraditional approach to learning basic employability skills needed in today's workplace. Well-developed soft skills help an individual find a job, perform well in the workplace, and gain personal success in life and career. By studying this text, you will learn the soft skills that employers recommend, and require, of employees. Learning how to interact professionally with customers, coworkers, and employers is one sure way to prepare for your future. In today's workplace, it is necessary to have job-specific skills to perform on the job as well as know-how to interact with coworkers and customers. You may be the most qualified person in your field in terms of hard skills, but if you lack soft skills, you may have a challenge finding and retaining employment. No matter your career choice, Soft Skills for the Workplace will help you help you jump-start your future. In today's competitive work environment, well-developed employability skills can help you stand out in the crowd Soft skills are the new hard skills for the 21st century.

As technology is being integrated into educational processes, teachers are searching for new ways to enhance student motivation and learning. Through shared experiences and the results of empirical research, educators can ease social networking sites into instructional usage. The Social Classroom: Integrating Social Network Use in Education collates different viewpoints on how social networking sites can be integrated in education. Highlighting both formal and informal uses of social interaction tools as learning tools, this book will be very useful to all educators, trainers and academic researchers in all aspects of education looking for a theoretical/practical approach to resourceful teaching.