What skills does it take to be successful? According to the Government of Canada, there are 9 Skills for Success that will help you get a job, progress in your current career, or change jobs. These skills help you become an active member of your community and succeed in learning. The skills listed below are overlapping and interact with each other. Each skill listed is something we can learn or improve upon with the resources available through our BC libraries.
Adaptability
Adaptability is how you react to change. Strong adaptability skills help you deal effectively with change and to learn new skills and behaviours when you need to, while staying focused on your responsibilities and goals and not giving up.
Learn how you can improve this skill with ‘Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failure’, available through the Vancouver Public Library.
Collaboration
Collaboration is your ability to contribute and support others to achieve a common goal. This is often listed as a top skill that companies need most.
‘Collaborating With the Enemy: How to Work With People You Don’t Agree With or Like or Trust’ offers a new approach to collaboration that embraces discord, experimentation, and genuine co-creation. You can borrow this book from the Okanagan Regional Library.
Communication
Communication helps you share and receive information to develop good working relationships with others. It helps you understand a variety of viewpoints and to problem solve.
‘How to Connect with Anyone’ is a downloadable audiobook available at the Whistler Public Library. This book will help you connect with others and build friendships and develop better relationships with colleagues and clients, friends and family.
Creativity and Innovation
Creativity and Innovation skills help you come up with new, unique, or “outside the box” ideas or to approach something differently than in the past, both at work and outside work. Employers are increasingly seeking people who can come up with new solutions/ approaches to tackling challenges.
‘Develop Your Creative Thinking and Innovation Skills’ is a course offered through LinkedIn Learning. You will learn how to generate innovative solutions in work situations and review how to develop, design, and create new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, and products. LinkedIn Learning is available through many libraries throughout BC.
Digital
Digital skills are in high demand. They help you keep up with the changing nature of the modern workplace and your daily life.
You can access technology and training at many libraries throughout BC. The North Vancouver City Library offers iPads and Chromebooks for loan, a digital learning space for all ages, one-on-one appointments to help you with your computer/ smartphone, a digital library to access free learning, and so much more.
Numeracy
Numeracy skills are needed in a variety of daily contexts. Understanding numbers remains critical to functioning today.
SOLARO provides study help for Mathematics, English Language Arts, and Science for students in grades 3 through 12. Students get access to all of SOLARO’s content at any time with your Surrey Public Library Card.
Problem Solving
Problem Solving helps you address issues, monitor success, and learn from the experience. Strong problem-solving skills will help you gather the right information, identify and solve problems, and make better decisions.
‘Stop guessing: the 9 behaviours of great problem solvers’ shares behaviours anyone can adopt to find solutions to seemingly intractable problems. You can borrow this book from the Vancouver Island Regional Library.
Reading
Reading helps you understand and interpret meaning, do your job and work safely, and learn other skills. It’s an important life skill.
Libraries in BC have many books, videos, and online tools to help immigrants learn and improve their reading. Search for materials by language level, by language skill and by the type of material you are looking for.
Writing
We write to communicate ideas and information to others. Knowing what to write, how much to write, and what style you should write in, is important.
Libraries in BC have many books, videos, and online tools to help immigrants learn and improve their writing. Search for materials by language level, by language skill and by the type of material you are looking for.
When reading through these 9 skills, what ones stood out for you as needing improvement? Use the above recommended resources available to you through your local library and get started on improving one of these. There are so many more resources and services available to you as a newcomer, at your library, and through settlement services. Dig around and let us know what you found that can help other newcomers.