About the Aspire to Be Hired Plan
NCTC works closely with local business and industry leaders to develop programs that produce graduates ready to meet current and future industry demands.
In the fall of 2019, NCTC commissioned a “Local Trends and Gaps Analysis” research report from the Hanover Group. This research, and subsequent meetings with stakeholders revealed that in addition to trade-specific skills, employers value candidates with “soft skills,” or employability skills. Youth.gov defines these skills as “personal qualities, not technical, that translate into good job performance.”
In response, NCTC developed the Aspire to be Hired QEP to equip students with these highly sought after non-technical skills. This plan is being implemented in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, and will grow to include other programs as well.
Consulting with various trade and professional organizations’ resources on these skills yields an extensive list of competencies. The Aspire to be Hired initiative focuses on embedding eight core skills that directly support NCTC’s Core Values and its Strategic Plan, including:
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Professional Communication
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Problem Solving
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Critical Thinking
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Emotional Intelligence
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Ethical Decision Making
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Teamwork/Collaboration
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Leadership
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Interpersonal Skills/Professionalism
The programmatic and student learning outcomes of this initiative stress the importance of awareness, articulation, and application of these skills. As such, these skills are to be clearly presented to students without ambiguity so they can readily identify and articulate their acquisition of them to employers.
