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Skill Building

Employers hire those who can demonstrate important transferable skills such as teamwork and creative problem solving and grasp specific industry skills and techniques such as the latest technologies, bedside manner, or welding techniques.

Transferrable or soft skills are easily transferred from job to job or profession to profession without much training. They are especially in demand today because it’s much more difficult to teach an employee a soft skill such as developing rapport with coworkers or managing conflict. Some transferable skills are Communication Skills, Problem-Solving, Teamwork, Leadership, Initiative, Creativity, Work Ethic, and Interpersonal Skills.

Technical or hard skills are concrete or objective abilities that you learn and perhaps have mastered. As industries grow, the skills required today are constantly changing and evolving. TIt is important to keep abreast of trends, understanding what skills certain job roles and industries demand, and begin to master those skills to make you a more competitive candidate.

Find both the transferable and technical skills needed in your industry today using our Job Market Data tool below.

 

5 Tips for Managing Competing Priorities Without Losing Career Growth Momentum

Navigating competing priorities often leads many professionals to deprioritize their career growth. When you focus on meeting deadlines and fixing sudden problems, you might have no energy left for your long-term goals.

Career growth depends on more than getting through …

By Ivy Exec
Ivy Exec is your dedicated career development resource.
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Hack the 2026 federal hiring boom: Why your skills matter more than your major | From Dorms to Desks Podcast | ep94

The federal hiring freeze is officially over, and the government just changed the rules of the game in a big way. Welcome to the era of the 2026 Merit Hiring Plan, where the dreaded “paper ceiling” of the four-year degree …

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College Recruiter believes that every student and recent grad deserves a great career.
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5 Tips to Navigate the Transition from Campus to Career

Robby, Management Development Program Associate at Capital One

For the longest time, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do for a career. In college, my life was entirely baseball. As a D1 player, my identity was so deeply …

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Free Digital Literacy Courses

These free, open-access courses are offered through the Literacy Council of SOWELA to help you brush up on your digital skills to keep up in school and in the workplace.

Interested in a digital literacy certificate? Send an email to msmith@literacyswla.org with the subject line "Northstar digital literacy assessment" to learn more!

Resources

Faculty can use this list to identify relevant certifications to help students upskill, build their resumes, and ensure they have …

Whether you’re a student looking to explore career paths or a faculty/staff member at SOWELA researching content for your curriculum, …

Help job seekers learn about careers in the most in-demand industries! Ready for Industry provides you with knowledge that introduces …

Learn about careers in the most in-demand industries! Ready for Industry provides you with knowledge that introduces the careers, common …

The Literacy Council of SWLA, Inc. is a community-based, non-profit organization committed to literacy and lifelong learning. The purpose is …

Interested in learning more about what it takes to work in a cutting-edge technology career? Begin your learning journey today …

Labor Market InsightsIn partnership withLightcast logo

Find Career Data with Job Market Insights
- Salary Data
- Emplpoyment trends
- Top Employers
- Skills & competencies
1. search keywords- search using keywords such as skills or job title
2. filter- filter by industry and occupation

Make informed career decisions with live employment data.

First, choose an industry of interest, then filter for occupation. (If you'd like to see data for a specific location only, filter by state.)