b'MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGETeaching and Assessing Essential SkillsColleges can begin to meet employers demand fororganizations) because of competing responsibilities. essential skills by defining specific skills and identifyingRegardless, Durowoju and Anuka (2014, p. 608) the best methods for teaching those skills.Thebelieve that essential skills can be taught, acquired, Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP, 2010)nurtured, and assessed over time, and that the suggests three options for developing essential skills: total person should be developed by teaching both hard and essential skills. Experiential learning of soft skills may be acquired through interactive teaching opportunities thatEmployees as Role Modelsprovide experience, practice, reinforcement, and reflection. of the Essential Skills On-the-jobtrainingusingacoachintheEducators should be more than vehicles workplacesettingmayalsocreatesoft-skill learning opportunities, but persuadingthrough which curriculum passes; they businesses to use this technique may be difficultshould be role modelsknowing that if learning takes precedence at the expense ofeach student observes and learns from workplace productivity.Creating workplace simulations where soft skillsthe adults in their life (Ajahu, 2018).are taught to workplace entrants as hard skills are being learned.This third method seems to beAjahu added that students must be held to high preferred over the other two methods, allowingexpectations while given high levels of support. the teacher to control the teaching agenda whileFaculty must give attention not only to the content simultaneously creating an improved classroomof the course, but also must consider the physical environment where soft skills are being used. imagethattheyconveywhichinfluencesthe students (Carr et al., 2009).For example, Kohl (2012) Therefore,teacherinvolvementisadvocates teaching students respect by showing paramount in discovering best practicesthem respect in the classroom.She also advocates for measuring essential skills. for a positive environment where students learn to model acceptable behavior.Teaching nontraditional students presents challenges when instructors address essential skills because their needs vary due to personal and professional experiences, socio-economic status, and other factors (Kruzic, 2016).Students who have extensive work experience with multiple professional role models have seen employability skills demonstrated, while those without experience may have had no role models to emulate. Nontraditional students may have increased numbers of responsibilities outside of the classroom that could also interfere with their ability to engage in activities designed to increase their awareness and understanding of career readiness skills (Kruzic, 2016).As it relates to MGCCCs QEP, nontraditional students may find it challenging to gain knowledge via informal settings (e.g., clubs and MGCCC QEP 2019 23'