NSI FAQs

What is unique about NSI?  How is it different from other soft skills training programs?

The curriculum is customized for the diversity of Greater Sacramento & California. In not only the Diversity course, but also the Listening and Interpersonal Skills courses, participants see the link between people's differences and the value those differences offer.

It combines, upgrades, and re-introduces soft skills usually offered individually in similar programs, like critical thinking, decision making, problem solving, and collaboration.

It adds two, key, higher-level skill areas: creativity and technology and introduces future skills workers will need, like emotional intelligence.

The dynamic training materials are enriched by abundant hands-on activities, case studies, engaging videos, discussions, surveys and checklists. Participants cannot "pass" the class unless they are fully engaged in these class activities, demonstrating that they understand the concepts and can apply the skills.

How does the NSI Certificate compare to the Career Readiness Certificate with WorkKeys® and KeyTrain®?

The NSI Certificate is awarded for completely different skills than those measured by the Career Readiness Certificate although the two complement each other perfectly. NSI develops in employees the essential soft skills and computer skills that employers want.  The Career Readiness certificate measures levels of proficiency in Applied Mathematics, Reading for Information, and Locating Information and compares the levels attained to the levels required for a particular job or industry. 

With NSI we have focused on communication, attitude, diversity, creativity, and technology.  We have purposely not focused on reading, writing, and math because with the wide range of proficiencies, especially when you factor in non-native English speakers, we feel those are best addressed separately.

What specific modules does NSI include?

NSI consists of eight, 8-hour courses:

1. Creativity and Innovation for Everyone
2. Diversity: Valuing Cultural Differences at Work
3. CANDO: Navigating Technology @ Work
4. Effective Listening
5. Verbal Communication for Working Professionals
6. Employability Skills
7. Service Orientation
8. Interpersonal Skills for Building Teamwork

How do you measure participants' performance with NSI, and when is a certificate awarded?

By the end of training, only those participants who can demonstrate to the instructor that they have mastered the content and skills taught in all eight Next Skills modules will receive the Certificate of Next Skills Proficiency. Mastery is determined by a combination of objective pre-/post-tests and by instructor evaluation of behavioral class activities.  Employers are asked to support and value this certification by providing a competitive advantage to certificate holders in terms of hiring, promotion, salary increases, or other recognition. 

How difficult is it for participants to "pass" each course?

To date, every participant who attended a course for the full time period and became an engaged and active participant in the course also mastered the course.  Participants who arrived late, left early, and/or did not become engaged in course activities did not master or "pass" the class.

How do I know that my employees' performance will improve if I send them to this program? 

Participation in the Next Skills Institute courses fills and strengthens the employee skill gaps that our region's employers have consistently identified in their entry-level workforce. We measure skills acquisition using a combination of pre- and post-tests and performance activities in class. In order to "master" each class, every employee-participant has to demonstrate their ability to apply these skills by way of the class activities and tasks.  You can be sure that anyone who attends all eight classes and earns the certificate has demonstrated that they understand all of the concepts and have all of the skills which are listed in bulleted form on the back of the certificate. In brief, workers who complete this program will have demonstrated in class that they can:

• effectively listen, reducing mistakes;
• communicate clearly to others;
• better manage their time, emotions, and attitude;
• better understand customer needs and build better work relationships to meet them;
• better handle conflict and adapt their own behavior in teams to interact more effectively; recognize the importance of valuing and respecting people's differences;
• become familiar with today's computer technologies and how to operate them safely; and
• solve problems by making thoughtful decisions based on creative and critical thinking.

Do my employees have to attend all eight courses?  Can't I just pick and choose what I think is important?

Of course, you can choose the courses you want your employees to attend, but keep in mind that this program was designed to transform an employee with major skill gaps into an employee with the essential skills that 82% of employers surveyed want to see in their workforce.  Classes build on each other and reinforce each other. Skills sets are presented, practiced, and repeatedly woven throughout the various courses to ensure that participants internalize them.  Skills like critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration are reinforced from one class to the next.  If an employee doesn't already have the full array of essential skills, they're not going to acquire them from just one, 8-hour course or even two or three courses. 

You may still choose to send employees to just the classes that you choose, but keep in mind also that the Certificate of Next Skills Proficiency is only given for completing and mastering all eight.

How does NSI compare to the Customer Service Academy?

The Next Skills Institute (NSI) and Customer Service Academy (CSA) Programs are highly complementary programs sharing key differences and similarities:

SIMILARITIES: Low to moderate overlap
Verbal Communications	Communicating with People
Interpersonal Skills for Team Building	Teambuilding
Service Orientation	Customer Service
DIFFERENCES: Low to no overlap
NSI	CSA
C.A.N.D.O.	Time Management
Valuing Diversity	Stress Management
Employability	Conflict Management
Effective Listening	Attitude in the Workplace
Creativity and Innovation	Ethics and Values
	Problem Solving

NSI Complements CSA
The two programs do share moderate overlap in three topic areas: communication, teambuilding, and customer service.  Instead of thinking in terms of similarities or differences, we could examine the complimentary aspects of these programs:

• NSI takes the three shared topics and concretes them for CSA graduates
• NSI weaves other CSA learning elements into higher next skills (time and priority management, emotional intelligence, accountability, and public speaking) that employers develop and retain
• NSI provides quality resources and references CSA graduates will need for transferring NSI and CSA learning to the job

Additionally, NSI requires participant pre-/post-testing, intensive classroom interactions, and facilitator's written observations, as an assessment of performance or under-performance. NSI and CSA both focus on work's biggest lesson: You must show up, be a well-rounded contributor, and own your results if job progress or retention is your goal.

Conclusion
NSI re-iterates some of CSA's basic skills and reveals how those basic skills and others must evolve if participants want improved job opportunities and longevity.

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