Co-op Competency Study

Shannon Day

Competencies Defined• Competencies are the knowledge, skills and

attributes you can develop in every aspect of your life. As more and more supervisors focus on competencies in the hiring process, successful candidates will be those who can communicate their competencies in their résumés and at interviews.

What makes up a competency?

A skill: is about doing something well (it is usually developed through training and practice)

Knowledge: is the information that you know. (theories, facts and procedures, and applying that knowledge in the right situation)

Attribute: is an inherent characteristic or quality and is often expressed through what you think, do or feel.= Competency

What's the point of understanding the 10 core

competencies Co-op teaches? If students can describe their competencies,

they will have an advantage as they apply for a wide range of opportunities.

They can describe their competencies in their applications, résumés, cover letters and talk about them during their interviews.

Overview of the Survey(5 questions)

1. What employment readiness skills do you believe co-op teaches our students?

2. Where should these skill sets be taught or introduced to better prepare students for their respective work-terms?

3. Out of the employment readiness skills, are there any you believe Co-op should provide more of? (feel free to explain)

4. What interpersonal communication skills does Co-op teach its students?

5. Out of the Interpersonal and communication skills, which do you believe would be beneficial to teach students more of? (feel free to explain)

Results of the Survey(1.Employment Readiness)

These were the top scoring results in order of most selected:

1. Résumé writing2. Interviewing 3. Job search skills4. Dependability

2. Where should these skills be taught or introduced to better prepare students for their

respective work-terms?1st highest 2nd highest 3rd highestInterviewing Personal appearance Team work

Job search skills Self-awareness Enthusiasm for work

Resume writing Being organized Empathy

Social Media Adaptation to formal Dependability Accepts suggestions..

Attendance and punctualityPlanningLinkedin Networking Compliance with policies

Prior to Work-Term 2

Only two skills were ranked by the staff for implementation prior to work-term 2.

1. Leadership

2. Strategic thinking

3.What should Co-op teach more of in terms of employment

readiness skills? (open ended question)

The two most common answers were:

1. Business Etiquette (social media, and e-mail)

2. Communication Skills

4.What interpersonal and communication skills does Co-op teach its students?

Of the 11 people surveyed the most popular choice was:

Reflecting (6 out of 11)

5.Out of the Interpersonal and communication skills, which do you believe would be beneficial to teach students more

of? (open ended question)

The most frequent responses was Communication With emphasis on ‘barriers to communication’, ‘asking questions’, and ‘negotiation’.

The second most frequent was Conflict Resolution

Followed by Emotional Intelligence, with emphasis on ‘self awareness’.

Conclusion

Survey says???

Resume writingInterviewing

Job search skillsDependability

Qualify for core competencies that Co-op teaches

Conclusion

Furthermore, the results show that our staff believe ‘Communication Skills’ would be beneficial learnings for co-op students.

And finally,

Clarification is needed on if ‘Reflecting’ can be considered a core competency.

Looking for Volunteers

A small committee to help brain storm this with me (your input is valuable)

To discuss the results and what is important for Co-op

Any volunteers?

Questions/Comments

Thank you for taking the time to listen to me!