What sets you apart? In a rapidly evolving workforce, this question is key. But for young people, whose skill sets are generally homogenous as they navigate similar high school courses and come out with the same high school diplomas, what sets them apart from their peers are often their soft skills.

How well can they communicate to co-workers and bosses? How professional are they in their timeliness and appearance? How do they deal with conflict? And what type of decision-makers are they?

That final question is perhaps the most important. The decisions they make in the course of a day have the power to influence almost every aspect of their work and environment. And it’s the decisions they make that will determine their communication, professionalism, and conflict management. Yet there is a gap, noted by those who study youth unemployment, between education and these skills needed in the workplace.

Youth are often expected to pick up soft skills on their own, either through their family or extracurricular activities. That isn’t always possible, nor is it comprehensive.

Yet developing these soft skills, and giving all youth equal opportunity to learn them, is necessary.
That’s why the Better Business Bureau Foundation is working diligently to offer LIFT to teens and young adults across Manitoba. LIFT is a free educational program that teaches participants how to engage critical thinking skills to make ethical decisions that will help them, their workplaces and their communities succeed.

With Manitoba’s youth unemployment rate hovering around 13 per cent, these skills have become more important than ever. Many youth missed opportunities to develop and practice them during the pandemic, when sports, clubs, and in-person classes were suspended. Many also missed out on the value of entry-level, first jobs as businesses across the country were forced to cut back.

LIFT can help our youth get back on track. And it does the work of reaching out to those young people who aren’t able to participate in out-of-school activities or part-time jobs for a myriad of reasons. LIFT gives all youth a foundation of soft skills that they can hone and refer back to as they move forward in life.

LIFT’s lessons can help them land first jobs, but also second jobs, third jobs and so on. The program lifts them up the ladder toward their goals. When considering candidates with similar technical skills, employers tend to consider soft skills, and that is what can set them apart.

For more information about the Business Bureau Foundation’s free ethical decision-making program offered this summer, please contact: foundation@manitoba.bbb.org

Previously published in CANSTAR Community News Monday, July 5, 2021