Soft Skills Solutions for Today's People Problems

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1 NonTraditional

2 Hard-to-Serve

3 At-Risk Youth

4 Ex-Offenders

5 Native Americans

6 Supervisors

Frequently Asked Question

Workshop Topics

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Instructor Training

Jan 9-11 High Point, NC

Jan 25-27 Columbia, SC

Feb 27-29 LA, CA

Mar 5-7 Little Rock, AR

Mar 28-30 Burlington, IA

June 6-8 Pittsburgh, PA

Workin' It Out

Last Update: December 23, 2011
  With 2012 training locations in:
High Point, NC;  Columbia, SC, Los Angeles,
Little Rock, AR, Burlington, IA,  and Pittsburgh
Connect with us online at Facebook and LinkedIn.

"Workin' It Out"
Preparing non-traditional job seekers for workplace success 


A steady job paying a living wage can be a powerful thing.  For many people, a good job offers more than just a paycheck; it offers a chance to reclaim their pride and sense of purpose as well.  But many non-traditional workers are poorly prepared to meet employers' demands.



      Dislocated workers                             
      Individuals with disabilities        
      At-risk youth and young adults

      Welfare-to-workers/TANF recipients
      Formerly incarcerated men & women
      People in recovery from addiction

Why do these individuals make such challenging employees?
In part, because they lack an intuitive understanding of their employer's unspoken expectations, and the vital soft skills (or people skills) needed to interact successfully within the social environment of the workplace.

Instead, inexperienced workers often mistakenly use the rules and habits of their personal lives to judge the appropriateness of their workplace behavior. As a result, employers experience costly problems with performance, morale, and retention.

 


SIX versions of   "Workin' It Out"

The "Workin' It Out" (WIO) program series represents six, related classroom-based, cognitive-behavioral curricula designed to help challenging workers succeed in today's workplace.  The programs are available ONLY to instructors who complete a 3-day training to become certified as WIO soft skills instructors.


For more information about becoming an instructor, click HERE. 



Go to Challenging Worker page
1  Workin' It Out:  For Inexperienced NonTraditional Workers

"Workin' It Out" is a 10-lesson classroom-based soft skills training program designed to help challenging, often inexperienced workers adjust to the unfamiliar expectations of the workplace.

WIO helps participants:
(1) Understand how their personal beliefs may conflict with the unspoken rules of the workplace.
(2) Improve interpersonal workplace skills such as anger management, giving feedback and taking criticism, and problem solving.

Want a closer look? Visit the Workin' It Out program page.
Go to Hard to Serve page
2  Learning to Work It Out:  For Hard to Serve Individuals

"Learning to Work It Out" is a 10-lesson soft skills program designed to help individuals with multiple barriers to employment gain confidence, people skills, and insights needed to transition into the world of work.

LWIO helps participants:
(1) Understand how self-defeating personal beliefs keep them from taking risks needed for success.
(2) Improve interpersonal work readiness skills such as emotional self-management, communication, and problem solving.

Want a closer look? Visit the Learning to Work It Out program page.
Go to At Risk Youth page
3 Beginning to Work It Out:  For At-Risk Youth/Young Adults

"Beginning to Work It Out" is a 10-lesson soft skills program designed to help at-risk youth and young adults develop the people skills and personal insights needed to transition from adolescence to a life of work.

BWIO helps participants:
(1) Understand how their personal beliefs, especially attitudes toward authority, may create problems in the workplace.
(2) Improve interpersonal skills such as anger management, expressing concerns, and problem solving to improve work readiness.

Want a closer look? Visit the Beginning to Work It Out program page.
Go to ExOffender page
4  Makin' It Work:  For Former Offenders

"Makin' It Work" is a 10-lesson training program designed to help offenders in transition from corrections to the community adjust more successfully to the world of work.  

Makin' It Work helps participants:
(1) Understand how their own attitudes and perceptions have justified illegal actions in the past. 
(2) Gain new insights into employer expectations in the workplace, and mentally shift their own outlooks to be more successful on the job.
(3) Improve interpersonal skills needed to manage difficult workplace situations.

Want a closer look? Visit the Makin' It Work program page.
Go to Native American page

5  Workin' with Tradition:  For Native American job seekers

"Workin' with Tradition," is a 10-lesson soft skills training program designed in concert with employers and tribal members of North Central Montana to help Native Americans improve the soft skills need to find and keep good jobs on and off the reservation.

Workin' with Tradition helps participants:
(1) Appreciate the strengths of their cultures while acknowledging the difficulties faced when seeking employment.. 
(2) Explore the value of work in building pride and identity while gaining valuable  new insights into unspoken employer expectations.
(3) Improve interpersonal skills needed to manage stress, organize time, express concerns, and make logical decisions in difficult workplace situations.

Want a closer look? Visit the Workin' with Tradition program page.
Go to Supervisors page
6  Managing to Work It Out:  For Struggling Supervisors

"Managing to Work It Out," is a 4-session soft skills training program designed to help supervisors better understand and manage a challenging new population of workers.

MWIO helps supervisors:
(1) Become more aware of new workers' perspectives, as well as supervisors' own work biases.
(2) Sharpen interpersonal skills such as problem solving, giving feedback, and mediating conflict.

Want a closer look? Visit the Managing to Work It Out program page.




Updated 2012   Workshop Topics
Dr. Steve Parese, author and speaker
Interested a dynamic workshop for a conference or upcoming staff development day? We offer innovative and entertaining workshops on a variety of relevant topics:


1.  “From Jails to Jobs” Helping the formerly incarcerated succeed at work

2.  “In Survival Mode”  Working through self-defeating patterns with the hard to serve

3. “Cognitive Coaching” Working through differences in perspective on the job.

4.  “Leave me alone!” Understanding Traumatized Youth

5.  “Kids These Days!” Preparing at-risk youth for the workplace.

6.  Staying Professional When It Feels Personal

7.  “What Matters Most” Reducing Stress by RePrioritizing

8. “Let’s Work This Out” Supervising Difficult Workers.

9.  “Can’t We All Get Along?” Strengthening Team-Building and Communication Skills
Click HERE to visit the "Workshop Topics" page.



2012  Trainings & Conferences
2011-12 INSTRUCTOR TRAININGS

Makin’ It Work Instructor Training

Oakland, CA   (Completed)

October 12-14, 2011


Makin’ It Work Instructor Training

Miami, FL     (Completed)

Nov 8-10, 2011


Makin’ It Work Instructor Training

Folsom, CA     (Completed)

December 6-8, 2011



Makin’ It Work Instructor Training

High Point, NC     (10 openings)

(Open enrollment   Click HERE)

January 9-11, 2012




Makin’ It Work Instructor Training

Spokane, WA     (CLOSED)

(Host: WA State Correctional Industries)

January 18-20, 2012




Makin’ It Work Instructor Training

Columbia, SC     (13 openings)

(Open enrollment: Click Here)

January 25-27, 2012




Workin' It Out Instructor Training

Little Rock, AR     (14 openings)

(Open enrollment: Click Here)

 March 5-7, 2012



Workin' It Out Instructor Training

Burlington, IA     (18 openings)

(Open enrollment: Click Here)

 March 28-30, 2012



Makin’ It Work Instructor Training

Pittsburgh, PA     (Tentative, check back by Jan 15)

(Open enrollment: Click Here)

June 6-8, 2012

Other events to be announced.
On Site training available for groups of 10-24 at a flat rate.  Email Dr. Steve Parese at SBParese@aol.com for a proposal of dates and rates.


2011 CONFERENCES
 APPA National Winter Conference
SETA Regional Spring Conference
National Correctional Industries Conference
DOWD National Conference
CA Workforce Association Conference
PA Partners State Conference
NAWDP National Conference
Texas Juvenile Justice Conference
NCDA National Conference
National Inside-Out Summit/CenterForce
TX Strengthening Families and Communities Conference
South Carolina Probation & Parole Conference
NAWDP Youth Symposium


Upcoming 2012 CONFERENCES

February 21-23, 2012  Panama City, FL

NAREN National Conference


April 16-20, 2012   Singapore

Ministry of  Community Development, Youth & Sports

Vocational & Rehabilitation Unit


May 6-9, 2012  Las Vegas, NV

NAWDP National Conference


May 16-17, 2012  Hershey, PA

PA Partners State Conference 

 

May 18, 2012  Des Moines, IA

Iowa Workforce Conference


June 21-23, 2012  Atlanta, GA

NCDA National Conference


August 12-15, 2012  Indianapolis, IN

APPA National Conference (tentative)



Interested in having Dr. Parese present at YOUR conference?  See the "Workshop Topics" tab on right for more information.


Contact us at SBParese@aol.com for open dates.


And by the way, THANK YOU!

Thank you to the more than 5,000 people who attended my conference presentations in 2011:

• D/OWD Annual Conference in San Francisco, CA (April 2011)

• Pennsylvania Partners State Conference in Hershey, PA (May 2011 keynote)

• NAWDP National Conference in Virginia Beach, VA (May 2011)


Looking for a dynamic, interactive workshop or keynote for YOUR conference or event? Click to visit our "Workshop Topics" page for a list of likely topics, any of which can be adapted to your groups needs.

Dr. Steve Parese
SBP Consulting, Inc.
PO Box 336 Danbury, NC 27016
SBParese@aol.com
office (336) 593-3533 fax (336) 593-2299


 


Now you can stay connected with us online at FaceBook and LinkedIn.


 

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Workin' It Out Soft Skills Training             Dr. Steve Parese             SBParese@aol.com