What are employers really looking for? What does it take to be successful at work? The Northeast Minnesota Office of Job Training partnered with CLIMB Theatre to help students develop the skills they need to get and keep a job. Summer youth work experience students from Cloquet, Moose Lake, Barnum, Duluth, Aitkin, Grand Rapids, Hibbing, Virginia, and International Falls all participated in a 5 hour opening session on June 8 or June 9. The day was filled with learning, laughter and fun!

  

Using a combination of theater skills, role-playing techniques, instruction, and activities, students learned how to create a worker "persona" that gets individuals hired and keeps jobs. Communication is a key factor in the workplace but understanding how to best communicate is often left to chance. Students learned how to use eye contact, body language, word choice, and articulation to their benefit when communicating. Students role-played various situations and learned how to ask for help, leave professional voicemails, and receive feedback from others. Students also practiced with each other challenging situations such as receiving criticism and communicating different viewpoints to a boss.

   

Learning about the world of work can be very exciting, yet daunting. The summer youth workers from the Northeast Minnesota Office of Job Training had the opportunity to practice some positive job skills in getting and keeping a job through the experiential activities with CLIMB Theatre. Not only did they learn, but they had a great time doing it! For more information on the youth program, click here.