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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.

 

Get Hired in 2026: 4 Ways to Bring Receipts & Prove Skills | From Dorms to Desks Podcast | ep81

Stop hoping your resume is enough. In 2026, employers don’t just want potential—they want proof. It’s time to bring the “receipts” to your job search.

Generic buzzwords like “hard worker” won’t cut it anymore. To land the job this year, …

By College Recruiter
College Recruiter believes that every student and recent grad deserves a great career.
Read more

How to leverage AI skills on your resume

By Vicki Salemi, career expert at Monster.com

If you’re concerned about AI as it relates to your future jobs while simultaneously embracing it on your resume, you’re not alone.

According to Monster’s 2026 State of the Graduate Report, 89 percent …

By College Recruiter
College Recruiter believes that every student and recent grad deserves a great career.
Read more

What Are Entry-Level Jobs Actually Looking For? Skills, Experience, and Expectations Explained

entry-level-jobs-requirements-skills-experience

You’ve seen it before: job postings marked “entry-level” that somehow require 2-3 years of experience. It’s maddening. You start wondering if employers have completely lost touch with reality or if the entire job market has gone sideways.

Here’s the …

Read more

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.)