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What are soft skills?

According to the Collins English Dictionary, “soft skills” are defined as “desirable qualities for certain forms of employment that do not depend on acquired knowledge: they include common sense, the ability to deal with people, and a positive flexible attitude”. The soft skills come in handy when you want to succeed in your interpersonal communication in both your career and education. The soft skills will certainly determine your success in Canada sometimes even more than the hard skills will.

On the other hand, hard skills are taught in the classroom. Unfortunately, many international students moving to Canada with exceptional hard skills tend to be poor in soft skills. Without a doubt, hard skills are crucial but if you have better soft skills, you are likely to be successful in group work. In addition, persons with better soft skills usually find jobs faster and advance in ranks faster than persons with a poor understanding and use of soft skills.

Soft skills training in Canada

Most colleges and universities in Canada acknowledge the fact that there is a high population of students including foreign students, who do not know the value of the soft skills. This is why new courses are now being offered to equip this group with the essential skills and ultimately help them complete the class.

Without the soft skills, international students have a hard time with their group work as it relies more on skills such as leadership skills, motivation, teamwork, language skills, and effective communication. Fortunately, with effective training and coaching, these skills become natural to everyone including students moving to Canada from different cultures and backgrounds.

Today, top post-secondary institutions that most students intend to attend are now integrating the soft skills in their training. This is more common in institutions that have a high population of international students.

At the same time, most faculties ranging from business, education and engineering have now incorporated soft skills training in their programs. In Canada, new courses are now being introduced with the soft skills in mind. Besides this being a trend, experts are equally calling on these institutions to incorporate soft skills training in their programs.

What can you do about soft skills training?

One thing you should keep in mind regarding the soft skills is that you need to have the willingness to develop new traits and relationships. They will help you in your career. As you take on a new path in a foreign country, it is important to keep learning and not only the hard skills taught by professors but also the soft skills taught by your peers.

Once you have the skills and experience you need for permanent residence, contact Mary Zhang at Maxcan Immigration in Markham, Ontario for assistance with your Canadian Experience Class application.