If you work to help others build and live successful lives, Survivability is a powerful model.

The world of work in the early days of the 21st Century is a world buffeted by change and complexity. And in today's volatile economic and social climate, people everywhere need strong career self-management skills to make the most of their personal and working lives.

They need Survivability Skills.

Personal and career survivability is based on acquiring and building strengths in ten "core" skill areas. Self-management. Technical literacy. Positive thinking. Active Learning. Information Gathering and Management. Creativity/Applied Resourcefulness, Problem solving (the consultative way) Initiative, Communication, Self-Marketing.

The problem is, many people don't know where to start.

Skill development, it's been said, occurs in four different stages. First there's awareness of the need for a new skill. Then, there's awkwardness as one uses the skill for the first time. Slowly, the skill becomes integrated and part of the individual's general skill set. Eventually, with continued use, it becomes habitual.

Progression from "awareness" of the need to "habit" can take up to three years. And while no one step is more important than any other, until an individual is fully aware of the skills needed, the remaining developmental steps can not be taken.

Survivability programs bring people to the starting gate, promoting personal awareness and action planning for skill improvement.

User friendly and non-threatening, Survivability programs:

• Help people assess themselves and their current skills against the demands in the workplace for higher level skills.
• Explain the concept of "employability" but from the individual's perspective.
• Explain the changes that have restructured today's labour market.
• Help people create a concrete plan of action to increase their own survival skills.

Above all, Survivability Programs teach people to think strategically and learn how to move through their corner of the workplace in a thoughtful and deliberate way.

For more information about Survivability workshops and presentations, visit Workshops & Conferences.

If you or someone in your agency would like to become a Survivability Coach or a certified Survivability Leader able to conduct workshops, train Survivability Coaches and develop new programming, visit Survivability Training.