What Skills do You Need to Work in Alberta
Useful Resources
Hard and Soft Skills
- Hard skills are skills that you need to do your job. Some examples are computer or language skills. These are skills that you can learn.
- Soft skills are interpersonal or people skills. Some examples include communication, teamwork and adaptability. These skills are harder to learn, but are becoming more and more important in the workplace. Employees that lack these skills often have problems at work which sometimes lead to them being fired or let go.
Here are some resources to learn more:
- What are hard versus soft skills?
- Indeed: Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills
- Hard Skills Vs. Soft Skills: Why you Need Both to Succeed
- Job Search and Networking: Hard and Soft Skills
- Top 9 Essential Skills: AWES
- Forbes: Top 12 Workplace Skills
Workplace Culture Resources
Researching and understanding Alberta’s workplace culture will lead to long term employment and less mistakes in the future. See the resources below.
- Working in Alberta: A guide for internationally trained and education immigrants (Page 51)
- Skilled Immigrant Infocentre: Workplace Culture Manual
- AWES, or the Alberta Workforce Essential Skills, offers a ton of printed and digital resources for newcomers. Click here to see a list of all their publications and tools.
- Opportunity Alberta: Workplace Culture Video
- Workplace Communication Skills for ESL Learners: With Quiz
Employment Teaching Resources
- https://www.settlementatwork.org: Hard and Soft Skills Practice
- Janis’ ESL: Jobs
- How to Talk about my Soft Skills Lesson Plan
- LingaHouse: Problems at Work Lesson Plans
- Soft Skills Business English Lesson
- Council of Lifelong Learning: Communicative Workplace English Resources
- Best of the Reader: People and Jobs
- Integrating Workplace Skills in General ESL Classrooms
- Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks ESL and Essential Skills: On the Job
- Norquest College: Teaching Essential Skills for English in the Workplace: Professional Development Workshops
- Bow Valley Literacy Readers
- Workplace Resources for English Language Learning: AWES
- *AWES Printed and Digital Tools. See some highlighted resources below.
- Working Faster, Working Safer CLB 1-2 Video Series
- Working Faster, Working Safer CLB 3+ Video Series
- Workplace Participation Workbook 1 (CLB 3-5) & Workbook 2 (CLB 6-8) *These accompany the higher-level “Work Faster, Work Safer videos
- English for Workplace Safety
- Online Self-Study Resources for Newcomer Integration: An annotated guide
Vocabulary List
Report (Noun): A summary of information that is written or spoken.
An agenda: A schedule of what you will talk about in a meeting.
Handed out– To give to others (give out).
Shared drive– A shared digital space for files.
Notes– A short comment to summarize important information.
Initiative – To do something without someone asking.
Problem solving– To fix a problem
Critical thinking– to consider something carefully before deciding.
Participants– people in a meeting or workshop
Register– to reserve a spot at an event.
Reminder– A thing that causes someone to remember something.
Evaluation– A sit down meeting with your boss about your performance.
Appointment– An arranged time when you will meet someone or do something.
Fill in– to write in your information on a form.
Improve– to make better.
Discuss– to talk about
Creative– to come up with an original idea.
Solutions– to fix problems.
Independently– to work alone
Punctual– to be on time/not late.
Communication – successful sharing of ideas and feelings.
Project– an individual or group activity that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal.
Feedback– to give your opinion of something.
Performance– how you are doing at work with your assignments.
Attendance– Going regularly or being present at a place or event.
Teamwork– Working together with others.
Equal– Being treated the same.
Main points –The important parts.
Progress– Improving
Self-improvement – Improving yourself.
Knowledge Check
#1. What should you do to make sure that you understand instructions?
#2. How did Mohammad take initiative?
#3. What problem did Sara have?
#4. What did Mohammad do well in the meeting?
#5. What is an employee evaluation?
#6. Why is Sara so quiet in meetings?
#7. What did Mohammad say he did well?
#8. Did Mohammad’s supervisor agree with him?
#9. What does Mohammad want to improve?
#10. What will happen if Sara doesn’t improve?
#11. Do you think Sara will improve? Please yes/no and why.
#12. Select the solution for Sara’s problem: She locked herself out of her email.
#13. Select the solution for Sara’s problem: She doesn’t know how to work on a team.
#14. Select the solution for Sara’s problem: She comes to meetings late.
#15. Select the solution for Sara’s problem: She made a bad joke about another coworker.
#16. Select the solution for Sara’s problem: She doesn’t understand in meetings.
Acknowledgements and References
Acknowledgements of Actors: Nicole Yoo, Mary Armstrong, Jamal Alzubairi, Jocelyn Chugg, and Donna Ng.
Acknowledgements of Voice Actor: Kanako Hiratsuka-Earle
Special thanks to Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers (EMCN) and Literacy and Essential Skills Training Program (LES) for assistance in content development.