and knowledge as hard skills, whereas interpersonal skills, character traits, attitudes, behaviors, and people skills are soft skills. The list of some soft skills that employers are looking for include communication (writing and public speaking
referred to as career or soft skills, encompass an array of proficiencies critical for workplace success. Although broadly defined, professional skills include the following: effective communication, the ability to solve complex problems and think
literature these skill sets are called “people skills,” “human skills,” “interpersonal skills,” “teamwork skills,” “management skills,” and most often “soft skills.” Because of their long-term importance to each student’s employment options and career success
-specific knowledge and skills are necessary for successful employment in horticulture, broad-based skills, often referred to as professional or soft skills, are also critical for career success. Employer surveys found professional skills to be lacking in college
memorization and recall learning techniques and moderate student interest and attention in the course ( Brosi and Huish 2014 ). Employability skills, or ordinary nontechnical skills, which are often referred to as “soft skills,” are of great interest to
( Pritts and Park, 2013 ). Horticulture curricula are unique in that they bridge not only the hard and soft sciences, but also the aesthetic, often attuned with fine art curricula (landscape design, floral art, and plant curatorship, garden history and
Improves Social Skills of Children Children with intellectual disabilities are faced with a wide range of obstacles that impact their social skills (e.g., self-assertion, self-control, cooperation), often causing them to avoid social relationships. Kim et
Sustainable and Organic Farm Training (SOFT) organization ( UHM-CTAHR, 2009 ) and the Horticulture Society (TPSS undergraduate organization) also helped provide input into curriculum development. CTAHR administration provides funding support for SOFT. The
with others through the program ( Table 1 ). With traditional horticulture curricula, soft skills such as managing people and networking are both difficult concepts to incorporate into conventional lecture and laboratory sessions ( Pearson et al., 2017
speaking or soft skills (e.g., accurate and effective communication, working well under pressure) are beneficial for professional development and securing employment ( Crawford et al., 2011 ; Easterly et al., 2017 ). Many students embraced the competition