SANTA ANA WORK CENTER STEM YOUTH PROGRAM (3)

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L 6. Collaboration/Teamwork - Working as a team can increase productivity, enhance project management, reduce business conflicts and create superior customer service. Students will learn the "styles" of classmates so they can work together better on projects and customer satisfaction. 7. Critical Thinking/Problem-Solving/Creativity - Many of us face a constant barrage of workplace decisions and problems to be solved. Regardless of job responsibilities, students will learn that they are responsible for smart choices. Instruction will focus on decision -making styles, processes and techniques, and when they each should be applied. Students will learn how to be creative problem solvers. 8. Workplace Legal Issues/Ethics/Health and Safety - Ethical behavior affects what happens in the workplace. This course provides the opportunity to evaluate ethical behavior and what's appropriate and what's not. 9. Time Management - Whether it's in the workplace, home or school, all areas of our life benefit from efficiency and productivity. The way we manage our time has an impact on our ability to get things done. Students will explore time management techniques that will help them stay in balance and be more effective in the workplace. 10. Conflict Resolution - Conflict gets in the way of good business and meaningful relationships. Participants will explore the causes and impact conflict can have on customer service and workplace affairs. This course will cover proven strategies and techniques for resolving tough issues and how to turn a difficult customer, or colleague, into a loyal one. The Customer Service Academy is an interactive program that will utilize videos, books, personality assessments, presentation tools, and incorporate games to enhance the students' interpersonal skills and encourage participation in all 10 courses. In addition to their CTE-ROP certification, youth will also receive "The National Professional Certification in Customer Service" (NPCCS) from the National Retail Federation Foundation. According to the labor bureau statistics, for the summer of 2006, teens had an unemployment rate of 16.5% -- four times higher than that of adults during the same period. Like adults, teens were hurt by the mini -recession of 2001, but while the adult economy has regained its footing, youth employment has continued to fall. Therefore, a certificate like this becomes very beneficial to our youth population by making them stand out above the more mature job seeker. According to Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, employers are hiring immigrants and workers 55 and older seeking to supplement their incomes."If you walk into a mall or a grocery store, you'll see large numbers of older people working at jobs teens used to have," says Sum. In an October 2006 study, "Are They Really Ready to Work?" more than 400 U.S. executives and human resource professions reported that entry-level employees, including graduates of four-year colleges, lack critical skills. A vast majority of high school graduates are deficient in written communications, professionalism and problem -solving all areas that the youth enrolled in the STEM program will learn and become experts at. Youth that attain the NPCCS will signify that they have demonstrated knowledge and skills noted as important to successful employment in best -practice, high-performance companies in the sales and service industries. A youth who earns this certification will have national, transferable certification of skills and knowledge in customer service. They will have a better opportunity at finding employment that values customer service and for youth it is most if not all the jobs they apply for. EXHIBIT A