At Jigsaw, the journey to mainstream employment begins in Jigsaw Academy, where trainees learn essential work-readiness soft skills through group sessions and personalised discussions. The Academy curriculum includes 20 skills, meticulously designed to prepare trainees for diverse workplace environments, enabling them to pursue a career in their desired industry.
Some of the skills we focus on are Teamwork, Flexibility, and Interpersonal Skills and Conflict Management. We’ve put together an explainer of these skills and actionable tips on how to implement them at home.
1. Teamwork
Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a group of individuals working together towards a common goal or objective. It involves individuals pooling their skills, knowledge, and resources to achieve something that would be difficult or impossible to accomplish alone. Effective teamwork is characterised by open communication, mutual respect, shared responsibility, and a coordinated effort towards achieving a shared outcome.
What does this look like in the workplace?
We emphasise the importance of Teamwork by explaining workplace tasks in relation to the bigger picture. For example, the more accurately each stage of digitisation is done, the better the following stage can be completed. Lauren, a trainee in our Adelaide hub, explains teamwork perfectly in her recent interview:
“I also like teamwork because we all work in one big team. We’re all playing our part in a team to get the job done. If file management is done right, scanning will be done right and if scanning is done right, quality control will be done right,” said Lauren.
How can you implement this skill at home?
At home, this can be as simple as understanding all the tasks around preparing dinner – from preparation to cooking, setting the table, and cleaning up afterwards. If everyone completes their assigned task efficiently and as a team, it makes the process run smoother. Assigning each family member their own task to help prepare dinner can reinforce the importance of teamwork, with a tangible result.
2. Flexibility
Flexibility is about the ability and willingness to respond to change. At Jigsaw we reinforce this by ensuring trainees do different tasks, sometimes in different locations and with different trainers. It’s not always easy to adapt, but it’s very important.
What does this look like in the workplace?
Flexibility as a personal skill in the workplace is exemplified by individuals who can quickly adjust to evolving circumstances and demands. This might mean switching tasks with very limited notice to meet a fast-approaching deadline.
How can you implement this skill at home?
At home, a routine is important, but things don’t always go to plan. When plans change, this provides a good opportunity for reflection about why a change is happening and why it’s important to be willing to work with the change. For example, if a doctor’s appointment needs to be rescheduled it’s helpful to talk about the reasons why that might need to happen, and how the day can be effectively shuffled to make room for this change.
3. Interpersonal Skills & Conflict Management
Interpersonal skills refer to the ability to effectively communicate, collaborate, and interact with others. They encompass qualities such as empathy, active listening, conflict resolution, and the capacity to build relationships that contribute positively to teamwork and a supportive work environment. It’s all about respecting others’ needs.
What does this look like in the workplace?
Interpersonal skills are essential for team members in the workplace to collaborate effectively and achieve collective goals. For example, a team member with strong interpersonal skills can foster open communication, actively listen to diverse viewpoints, and contribute constructively during group discussions. This promotes a supportive team environment where ideas are freely exchanged, consensus is reached efficiently, and team cohesion is strengthened, leading to more innovative solutions and improved overall productivity.
How can you implement this skill at home?
Interpersonal skills can be practised at home through engaging in meaningful conversations, resolving conflicts calmly, and collaborating on tasks or activities with family members. These interactions provide opportunities to improve communication, empathy, teamwork, and active listening, which are essential for building strong relationships and effective communication in both personal and professional settings.
Simply encouraging discussions around the dinner table can greatly help to hone interpersonal skills, providing an opportunity to practise active listening, empathy, and idea-sharing.
We hope this has provided you the tools to foster the continued learning of these highly relevant transferable skills at home. Check back next month for more ways to implement our Academy curriculum at home!
About Jigsaw
Jigsaw is a social enterprise that provides an innovative pathway to open employment for people with disability. By embedding a comprehensive skill-based training program within our commercial document and data management business, Jigsaw enables people with disability to achieve their employment goals at their own pace. Jigsaw’s holistic approach starts from the very basics of core work skills and supports trainees all the way through to transition to open employment with ongoing support and coaching once they have transitioned.
Jigsaw is located in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Canberra.