Throughout July and August, more than 170 faculty and staff participated in the first Summer Competency Camp 2018, designed to strengthen employees’ core competencies skills.
Courses were available online through Skillsoft and were focused on Dal’s Core Competencies — self-awareness/professionalism, respect, knowledge/thinking skills, service, integrity, adaptability and communication.
Competencies help support every phase of an employee’s career at Dal, including to complement performance goals and job descriptions, give language to attitudes, behaviours and intangibles, and provide a roadmap for continued professional development.
The six-week camp gave employees the opportunity to complete as many courses as they wanted, at their own pace and desired skill level. The “Ready, Set, Go” approach included three levels of Skillsoft resources for each competency and certificates upon completion.
Supporting professional growth
Participants in the camp were from across the university, from Facilities Management to the Faculty of Medicine.
“I am a big supporter of personal and professional growth,” says Tony Slaiman, business process analyst with the Faculty of Medicine’s MedIT team. “I have been using Skillsoft since 2013 and I truly believe and associate with the Dalhousie core and leadership competencies.”
Communication is integral to Slaiman’s role. “We operate at the intersection of business problems and solutions,” he explains, “which means we have to be able to communicate with different groups that might be speaking different languages.” In the camp, he focused on courses and skills relevant to his work, including Making an Impact with Non-verbal communication; Becoming a Great Listener; and Overcoming Your Own Unconscious Bias.
“While summer may be coming to an end, I have a sense of pride completing the camp. It really helped me recognize my strengths and work on my growth areas.”
Although the camp wrapped up on August 24, all of the training resources are now available on the HR site of myDal under Skillsoft.
Improving skills
“A co-worker recommended the Competency Camp, and it seemed like an easy and structured way to be introduced to Skillsoft,” says Laurel Sampson, academic advisor, Faculty of Management. “I’m always interested in improving my work-related skills and this program had the added benefit of being specifically tailored to the needs and values of Dal.”
She said she found the courses related to the “respect” competency to be some of the most valuable.
“Our student body is diverse and where I work with them daily it’s my responsibility to ensure that I’m helping them, and not creating barriers. Also, the camp has provided me with resources that I can return to, and knowledge that I can build on throughout my career at Dal.”
As part of Dal’s commitment to employees’ professional development, the university has partnered with Skillsoft since 2013 to offer faculty and staff online learning opportunities, with more than 3,000 different courses and offerings. These courses, along with their associated jobs aids and skill briefs, can be used as reference tools in your work or as part of your personal development.
You can view the diverse library of content that Skillsoft has to offer here or review the Quick Start Guide.
How do I access Skillsoft?
Skillsoft requires a unique user ID that is generated by Talent Management within the first two weeks of your employment at Dal. If you do not know your unique ID please go to Skillsoft Online Learning and use the “forgot your user ID” link. When entering your e-mail address, use your Net ID e-mail address (e.g. st542532@dal.ca). Skillsoft does not recognize any other e-mail address you may use. If you have never accessed Skillsoft before try Welcome or welcome as your password (it may be case sensitive depending on when you were entered into the system).
If you have customized your password and forget what it is use the “forgot your password” link to set a new one - noting again to enter your Net ID e-mail address (e.g. st542532@dal.ca). If you need further support please contact talent.management@dal.ca or call 902-494-1115.