Plans to pass essential skills education bill in Kentucky likely in 2018

Can you show up to work on time? Everyday? Can you pass a drug test? Are you able to work well on a team? Can you dress properly for an interview and make eye contact. How's your handshake - firm and confident, or wimpy and lack-luster?. Can you demonstrate good communication skills?

Essential skills. Soft skills. Twenty-first century skills. Workforce ready skills. No matter what you call them, today's employers want them. Now. Regardless of the job you are looking for, these interpersonal skills weigh heavy in an employer's hiring decision. Technical skills may get you an interview, but soft skills will get you the job!

Kentucky House Education Chair Bam Carney says he expects an Essential Skills bill will pass both the House and the Senate in the 2018 session, unlike a similar bill that made it past the House but not the Senate in the 2017 session.

While the details of the 2018 Essential Skills bill have not been disseminated, it is expected that each county in Kentucky will have a program that will address the soft skill needs of employers in the area. Likely these programs will be developed by educational institutions.