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Parkland College to Offer Grant-Funded Soft Skills Workshops
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Parkland College to Offer Grant-Funded Soft Skills Workshops

Parkland College will provide soft-skills workplace training to District 505 community members, businesses, and organizations this fall.

Parkland College will use part of a statewide grant to provide soft-skills workplace training to District 505 community members, businesses, and organizations this fall.

After it was recently awarded a $100K Noncredit Workforce Training Grant from the Illinois Community College Board, Parkland's Community Education department began plans to launch a six-session workshop series, the Essential Workplace Skills Program (EWS), this October.

The EWS Program is designed to help individuals across the district develop skills that are vital for success in today's workplace, such as professionalism, effective communication; critical thinking; diversity, equity, and inclusion sensitivity; navigating challenges and stressors; and customer service. Based on local industry and workforce needs, the program also aims to support success of the area's small and minority-owned businesses and nonprofits through low- or no-cost employee training, according to Cayla Waters, associate director for contract training and professional development at Community Education.

"As smaller organizations in our district struggle to afford high-quality employee training, the EWS Program intends to fill that gap," Waters said. 

The six interactive workshops can be taken individually or as a series. Sessions will run from 9 a.m. to noon at Parkland College Community Education:

  • Practicing Professionalism at Work: October 18, 2024  
  • Communicating Effectively: November 20, 2024  
  • Thinking Critically at Work: December 13, 2024  
  • Navigating Challenges and Stressors: January 15, 2025 
  • Understanding Customer Service Essentials: February 21, 2025  
  • Advancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: March 12, 2025 

Individuals who complete the EWS training will receive a noncredit Certificate of Completion, which can be marketed to employers as a desired credential. Additionally, local employers can customize the workshop topic sequence, length, and schedule to meet their company's or organization's needs. Discounts are available to take the workshops, which cost $60 each.

More information is available at parkland.edu/ews or by emailing Waters at cwaters@parkland.edu

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