Skills for Success: Invest in Yourself

Students! Did you know that transferable proficiencies that relate to social and emotional skills (SES) are high in demand in all sectors of the workforce? Communication and collaboration are two of the top five SES that employers have indicated they search for when choosing candidates (Rose, 2024, p.7). All students can benefit from the Skills for Success courses. Whether you are studying in STEM or the Arts, the competencies you develop in taking these courses will advantage you in any workplace.

Are you looking for ways to improve on these most sought-after skills and make you more employable? Would you like to update the information on your resume? Want to distinguish yourself from other candidates for upcoming opportunities? There is no need to go elsewhere – BioTalent Canada has you covered!

Last year over 92 students did over 411 courses that validated their learning and demonstrated to employers that they have the skills needed for today’s labour market. Once again, UM has partnered with BioTalent Canada to offer UM students the opportunity to register for a suite of courses that help individuals to develop technical, transferable, social and essential skills for the workplace. UM students receive these courses for FREE using a code to acquire this $1,500 value suite. Most courses take about one hour to complete and offer the chance to put what is learned into practice by looking at real-life work scenarios.

International students, are you waiting for your work permit to be processed? Completing BioTalent courses is an excellent way to build your resume and skills in the meantime, so you are more prepared for applying and interviewing by employers.

The Skills for Success course series from BioTalent Canada exposes you to the knowledge and abilities you need to contribute, adapt and succeed in the workplace. Nine transferable skills courses include bio-economy fundamentals, reading, writing, numeracy proficiency, document use, communication, collaboration and problem solving. These online courses include:

• an introduction to each essential skill and demonstration of its importance in the bioeconomy,
• a presentation of strategies to help develop the skill,
• provide opportunities for practice, and
• give learners an opportunity to track their progress through a pre- and post-assessment of each course. Whether you are interested in working in the Bioscience sector or not, all students can benefit from these courses since they are the skills most sought after by employers in Canada.

Are you a student in STEM? Enrolling in the suite of technical skills courses can advance your knowledge of producing scientific reports, working in a lab or factory, quality assurance and quality control and clinical practice.

Besides the overall benefits of doing these courses, you have two options to get these courses recognized. Students can receive recognition for completion of individual courses on the Experience Record (previously known as the Co-Curricular record) and/or those completing all 13 courses offered, can receive a BioTalent Ready certificate that employers look for on resumes. Employers in the Bioscience field recognize this certificate and seek out applicants who have it. What better way to help secure the job of your dreams?

Whether you are interested in working in a scientific field or not, you can benefit from taking these courses.

What are you waiting for? Register today!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Students have access to these courses via their University of Manitoba email, by using the coupon code: umanitoba_courses.
Courses can be accessed at Training Programs Archive – BioTalent Canada. It is important for students to know that they only have one chance to register for courses. It is strongly recommended to register for all the courses, as you cannot go back to re-register. You are not penalized in any way if you do not complete all your registered courses.

Sources:
Rose, E. (2024, June 10). SES in the workplace: Insights from Canadian employers. The Conference Board of Canada. https://www.conferenceboard.ca/product/ses-in-the-workplace_2024/

Experiential Learning Partnerships