The Agurban from Boomtown Institute – "You’re Hired! From Book Smarts to Street Smarts"

A few weeks ago, we included a series in our Agurban called Preparing for the Future. This series included information on the lack of, and critical importance of, "soft" skills. Soft skills include being able to work comfortably with people from other cultures, solve problems creatively, write and speak well, think in a multidisciplinary way and evaluate information critically. In addition, professionalism and work ethic, including personal accountability and effective work habits (punctuality, working productively alone and with others, time and workload management) are considered soft skills.

We received many responses to the series, but one response from Dr. James Jordan-Wagner, Chair of the School of Business at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL, told us of a program at EIU that addresses this issue. The six week program is called "You’re Hired! From Book Smarts to Street Smarts". During the sessions, students work with facilitators and business professionals to learn collaboration, work styles, communication skills, professionalism, ethics and workplace survival skills. Funding for the program was provided through a generous gift from Mr. Stan Hollis, an EIU alumnus.

The skills introduced in the "You’re Hired!" workshop are skills that employers nationwide see as crucial to success in entry level positions within their company. As we know, research has indicated that recent college graduates are deficient in these areas. This type of collaborative effort with business and industry is an important factor in the effort to help students acquire the required skills and make the transition from student to professional.

The program was initially piloted in Fall 2006, with a second session in Spring 2007. Due to the success of the program, it will be offered both semesters during the upcoming school year.

To learn more about the program, or if you are a business and industry professional and would be interested in serving on one of the workshop panels, contact Kathy Schmitz, Director of the Student Center for Academic and Professional Development at EIU’s School of Business at [email protected].

The Blog Log
Visit my weblog to see where I’ve been and what I have learned along the way.

On the road again…
In addition to my travel blog I’ll list my upcoming engagements in each issue of The Agurban. Come see me when I’m in your neighborhood!

Jack’s Schedule

Upcoming Speaking Engagements:

Tuesday, August 28 – Springfield, MO – Missouri Governor’s Conference

Tuesday, September 11 – New Castle, PA – Lawrence Co. EDC Annual Meeting

Tuesday, September 18 – Dodge City, KS – Centera Bank

Friday, September 21 – Oil City, PA – Oil Region Alliance

Monday, September 24 – Martinsville, IN – Martinsville Chamber of Commerce

Jack Schultz is the CEO of Boomtown Institute and Agracel Inc., an industrial development firm majoring in rural America, author of Boomtown USA, and speaker. Boomtown Institute serves as an economic development mentor to communities across the United States, leading communities to realize their full potential.

Visit the Boomtown Institute website at http://www.boomtowninstitute.com

Keep up with Jack as he tours the country on his blog!
To learn more about Agracel visit http://www.agracel.com.

email: [email protected]

phone: 217-342-3000

web: http://www.boomtowninstitute.com