Colorado Agriscience Curriculum
Section: / Intro to Agribusiness IIUnit: / Securing employment in the agriculture sector
Lesson Title: / Learning basic work habits, attire and work ethic
Colorado Ag Education Standards and Competencies / Standard 10.3 Securing positive employment in agriculture sector
Competency 3-5 Learning basic work habits, attire and work ethic
Colorado Model Content Standard(s): / English Standard 2.2
Conveying technical information in a written form appropriate to the audience
English Standard 3.5
Students are refining spelling and grammatical skills and becoming a self-evaluator of their writing and speaking
English Standard 4.2
Using reading, writing, listening, articulate speaking and viewing to solve problems.
Student Learning Objectives: / 1. Identify skills that employers want
2. Identify and understand personal management skills
3. Identify and understand employability characteristics of successful workers
Time: / 50 minutes
Resource(s): / Leadership: Personal Development & Career Success, Rickets, 2003.
Instructions, Tools, Equipment, and Supplies: / Italicized words are instructions to the teacher; normal style text is suggested script.
Projector and Whiteboard
Handout, one per student, 2 pages (you may want to delete parts of this to make them take
notes during the presentation)
Interest Approach: / Technology is changing at a rapid pace. The workplace is changing and the skills that employees must have in order to keep up are also changing. One thing that is not changing, however, is the fact that employers are looking for employees with leadership, work ethic, and human relations skills.
You are developing these job skills each day of your life. The personal qualities and skills you develop today will follow you into the workplace. The kind of person you are today will affect the kind of employee you will become. Employers look for employees who have certain qualities and skills. Although academic skills and technical sills are important, employers want good, honest, hard-working people. Developing these qualities and skills will help you to be a success on the job. A great quote that really applies to this topic reads:
“Hire Character, Develop Skill”
Skills that employers want can be divided into three major categories. Personal management skills, teamwork skills, and academic and technical skills are the foundation for gaining employability skills. Personal management skills include dependability, responsibility, setting and accomplishing goals, making decisions, honest, and exercising self-control. Teamwork skills include organizing, planning, listening, sharing, and being flexible. Academic and technical skill include communication, planning, understanding, problem solving, and competency in a chosen occupation. This lesson addresses these topics and others associated with employability skills, which must be learned to gain and maintain meaningful and productive employment.
Objective 1: / Identify skills that employers want.
Use slides 2-9. Students should capture the following notes in their notebook.
Skills Employers Want
nAchiever
–Internal drive to be up and doing
–You get things done, are energetic, & competitive
nActivate
–Presence, and the ability to have input
nAttitude
–You cannot succeed unless you think you can.
–Attitude is everything
nCommitment
–Assist associates and staff in the success of the organization
nCommand
–Ability to take charge and speak out with authority
nCompetitiveness
–The desire to come out on top
nCourage
–Capacity to increase one’s determination in the face of resistance
nCredibility
–Takes pride in the quality of work accomplished
nDedication
–Commitment that follows vision, empowers self, and enables others
nDependable
–Can you be relied on & trusted in all situations
nDeveloper
–Desire to help others grow and mature
nDiscipline
–Ability to self-structure your time & environment
nDrive
–Desire to accomplish even when discouraged
nEmpathy
–Feelings for another person’s position & needs
nEthics
–Capacity to live by a set of principles
nFocus
–Ability to choose a direction and maintain that direction or goal
–Ability to identify key priorities
–Target attention appropriately & stay on track
nIdeation
–Capacity to explain events & ability to act as a problem solver & source of innovative ideas
nKnowledge
–Clear and certain mental preparation; understanding of the problem
nLoyalty
–Devotion for a person, group, or cause
nOrganization
–System for establishing goals and objectives within a given time frame
nResponsible
–Take ownership of personal behavior
–The ability for seeing that directions and rules are followed
nSelf-Confident
–Belief in you ability, not afraid to make judgments
nTeam Player
–Fit within a group of employees who are set to accomplish similar goals
–Willing to do whatever is necessary for the success of the organization
nValues
–Principles, ideals, and high standards of conduct
Some students find work immediately after graduation, but many others take much longer. Why? Although the educational degrees may be the same, other factors are at work. When employers were asked what they looked for in an applicant’s resume, the top answer given was the person’s record of achievement; related work experience was the next answer given. Ironically, further down the list was the candidate’s educational achievement.
The factors that influenced the final selection after an interview were level of enthusiasm; 31%; professional attitude; 25%, the right “chemistry;” 23%, and experience level; 21%. Another factor that nearly all-prospective employers seek in candidates is individuals who have a vision of where they are going and practice goal setting.
We are now going to explore a partial listing of occupation related skills and personal attributes that employer’s look for when they hire people. Nearly all of these factors are being observed by the interview in one-way or another.
Objective 2: / Identify and understand personal management skills.
Utilize slides 10 & 11
Personal management skills help a student become a responsible adult.
Attending work daily and on time translates to dependability. Being punctual should be every person’s goal.
Meet work deadline. Meeting deadlines shows you are responsible enough to get work done on time. You are able to devise a plan and organize your work to complete a task on time. Failure to meet a deadline may lose a customer and that would mean loss of profit for the company. Failure to meet deadlines may cost you your job.
Develop career plans. Career plans include setting goals and accomplishing them. Without goals, we have no focus or direction.
Know your personal strengths and weaknesses. It is best to look for a job in which you can use what you know so you can be successful and useful to our employer. Identifying your weaknesses will enable you to know where it is you need improvement
Demonstrate self-control. Situations may arise on the job that displease you or upset you, but as an employee you will need to keep your composure. Keeping your composure requires thinking before you react.
Pay attention to details. Paying attention to details eliminates mistakes and prevents start-overs. Correcting errors or starting over wastes company time and money. Doing a job right the first time is your responsibility.
Follow written instructions and directions. Instructions are given for a reason; They are procedures developed for production and to get quality work done efficiently and on time. Not following instructions causes delays and slows progress from one stage to the next, eventually causing confusion and disrupting the process.
Follow verbal instructions and directions. Most jobs require that you be able to communicate by speaking, listening, and writing.
Work without supervision. Working without supervision is being able to perform your job without someone standing over you. Do not work to please your boss, work to please yourself.
Learn new skills. It is important to know the skills needed to do your job well. However, employees also need to learn new skills to stay up to date with new technologies
Use organizational skills. Our will need organizational skills for every type of job. You must be able to organize your time, tasks, and belongings.
Demonstrate personal values at work. True leaders are not afraid to demonstrate personal values in the form of examples in their everyday lives. Ask yourself: What are my values? Another way of asking this question is, in what do I really believe? What gives my life inner quality? For some people, financial success is what gives meaning to their work. For others, lending a helping hand to others less fortunate gives their efforts value.
Objective 3: / Identify and understand Employability Characteristics of Successful Workers
Have students work in pairs to compile a list of five employability characteristics of successful workers. Have them compile a list on the board. Compare their list to slide #12. Facilitate a discussion on the complete list.
Employers look for certain qualities when hiring new employees. Understanding these qualities and their importance is a step toward job success. Several things that help make a successful employee and enhance relationships. These qualities are a positive attitude, cooperation, dependability, trustworthiness, working hard, respecting others, handling criticism, exhibiting appropriate dress and grooming, showing initiative and being diligent.
Review/Summary: / Although technology is changing at a rapid pace, one thing that is not changing is the fact that employers need people with leadership, work ethic, human relations, and other employability skills.
Workers must also learn to respond to authority and practice ethics in the workplace. You can show a high ethical standard on the job by being honest, providing worthy service, and having a positive attitude. Getting a job is the beginning of your career, not the end. An obvious measure of success is job promotion. There are several things an employer looks for when deciding which workers to promote; job mastery, initiative, good employability skills, and understanding a supervisor’s responsibility.
Application--Extended Classroom Activity: / Twelve qualities were discussed to enhance relationships with your employer and employees. Interview an employer in your community and ask what qualities they look for in employees. Compare their answers with the twelve qualities in this lesson.
Application--FFA Activity: / Compete in the Job Interview Career Development Event.
Application--SAE Activity: / Take advantage of exploratory SAE’s by researching a number of potential careers, or even exploring different SAE’s in the process.
Evaluation: / Have students write a two-paragraph summary of the five most important employability skills. They should include the reasons that they chose each skill or job employability attribute. Grade the paper for spelling, grammar, structure, inclusion of five skills, and the quality of their thoughts.
Evaluation Answer Key: / Will vary by student
Name:
Handout over Business Ethics, Attire, and Work Ethic
Skills Employers Want
nAchiever
–Internal drive to be up and doing
–You get things done, are energetic, & competitive
nActivate
–Presence, and the ability to have input
nAttitude
–You cannot succeed unless you think you can.
–Attitude is everything
nCommitment
–Assist associates and staff in the success of the organization
nCommand
–Ability to take charge and speak out with authority
nCompetitiveness
–The desire to come out on top
nCourage
–Capacity to increase one’s determination in the face of resistance
nCredibility
–Takes pride in the quality of work accomplished
nDedication
–Commitment that follows vision, empowers self, and enables others
nDependable
–Can you be relied on & trusted in all situations
nDeveloper
–Desire to help others grow and mature
nDiscipline
–Ability to self-structure your time & environment
nDrive
–Desire to accomplish even when discouraged
nEmpathy
–Feelings for another person’s position & needs
nEthics
–Capacity to live by a set of principles
nFocus
–Ability to choose a direction and maintain that direction or goal
–Ability to identify key priorities
–Target attention appropriately & stay on track
nIdeation
–Capacity to explain events & ability to act as a problem solver & source of innovative ideas
nKnowledge
–Clear and certain mental preparation; understanding of the problem
nLoyalty
–Devotion for a person, group, or cause
nOrganization
–System for establishing goals and objectives within a given time frame
nResponsible
–Take ownership of personal behavior
–The ability for seeing that directions and rules are followed
nSelf-Confident
–Belief in you ability, not afraid to make judgments
nTeam Player
–Fit within a group of employees who are set to accomplish similar goals
–Willing to do whatever is necessary for the success of the organization
nValues
–Principles, ideals, and high standards of conduct
Personal Management Skills
nAttend work daily & on time
nMeet work deadlines
nDevelop career plans
nKnow personal strengths & weaknesses
nDemonstrate self control
nPay attention to details
nFollow written instructions & directions
nFollow verbal instructions & directions
nWork without supervision
nLearn new skills
nIdentify & suggest new ways to get the job done
nUse organizational skills
nDemonstrate personal values at work
Employability Characteristics of Successful Workers
nPositive attitude
nBe cooperative
nBe dependable
nBe trustworthy
nWork Hard
nRespect others
nHandle criticism
nShow initiative
nAppropriate dress & good grooming
nBe diligent
nBe capable
nShow commitment
Unit 3, Lesson 5: Learning basic work habits, attire and work experience 1