A Free Soft Skills Communicator Course for Job Training Programs Nationwide

Today, we are thrilled to announce that we are making our research-backed Soft Skills Communicator Course available to all public and private U.S.-based workforce development programs, FREE of charge. This kicks off the availability of a first-of-its-kind Soft Skills Communicator micro-credential.

The Time is Now

We stand at a major inflection point in the U.S. Labor Market. The need for upskilling, reskilling, and job training education is exploding. These programs, while crucial, often fail to address the “last mile” of job seekers’ ultimate pursuit: selling themselves in the interview and landing the job. The essence of this lies in their ability to communicate their critical soft skills with confidence in the interview. Soft skills—like lifelong learning, collaborative decision making, and emotional intelligence—are seen by 92% of hiring managers as more important than technical skills. The gap left by the last mile is hugely problematic.

The WholeStory Soft Skills Communicator Course offers a transformative bridge over this gap. It draws on extensive research that reveals life experience as the source of the most essential skills for job success. We proved the power of this course in studies done with Year Up and TLG Learning, showing that it significantly increases job seeker confidence and capability. In addition, the course has been successfully implemented in non-profit and public workforce development programs. As part of Dignity of Work, our XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling competition team, we evolved the material into a dynamic and engaging video course.

Since founding WholeStory, we’ve seen workforce development programs as key partners, aligned with our social purpose and vision. In 2019, we brought on Year Up, a leading nationwide training program serving young adults, as our first partner (see the Year Up Case Study). In 2020, the systemic issues spotlighted by the pandemic elevated our awareness of just how vital the workforce development ecosystem is to the future of work.

At the core of WholeStory is the desire to raise up underrepresented job seekers. These individuals are often the most well equipped to build adaptive, resilient organizations. In this moment, one of the most authentic ways we can accomplish a more equitable, human approach to hiring is to make our platform and training available to as many job seekers as possible. Workforce developers—who sit at the intersection of policy, employers, and job seekers—are perfectly situated to aid in this cause.

The Other Side of the Equation

Though the Soft Skills Communicator Course is effective on its own, the needed evolution in hiring can only be fully realized when employers are at the table. The WholeStory platform shows employers how to see the full depth and breadth of job seekers’ experience and capacity. It illuminates soft skills through pivotal life experiences, helping employers to solve one of their greatest business problems. This approach has been identified by McKinsey & Co. as key to solving the soft skills gap. There is no other way for employers to get this critical information—not on a resume, not in an interview, and not on any other platform.

When workforce developers, job seekers, and employers speak the same language about soft skills, a more authentic interview is made possible. Everyone is on the same page about which skills are important, how those skills are developed, and how to talk about them in the job interview.

• Job seekers can draw on a much wider range of experiences to highlight the entirety of their capabilities;
• Employers are freed from narrow, outdated assessments and unconscious biases that limit the effectiveness and evolution of their talent acquisition strategy; and
• Workforce developers ensure that their program delivers people who are truly prepared for the workforce.

When job seekers complete the course and receive the Soft Skills Communicator micro-credential, they signal to employers that they are ready to communicate their most essential skills in the interview.

Next Steps

WholeStory brings together job seekers, employers, and workforce developers around the intuitive principle that life experience holds the key to understanding soft skills. This principle is crucial to rebuilding our economy. It is perhaps even more crucial to preparing us for what lies ahead as the 4th Industrial Revolution continues to unfold. With this new offering, we’re excited to be able to invite so many more organizations and individuals on the journey, and we hope you’ll join us.

Are you a workforce developer, bootcamp, or job training provider interested in making the FREE Soft Skills Communicator Course available to your job seekers? Click here to learn more or fill out the form below.

Gain Access

Test drive the course today! Sign up below and we’ll send you the course demo login so you can sample the content.