WACC Principal and Director Ronna Kawsky, along with members of a KLA team, address industry leaders on what types of soft skills are sought in the workplace.

WARSAW — For anyone who has ever hired an employee who “just didn’t work out,” one organization connected to local school corporations is trying to do something to build a better core of job candidates to keep the substandard workers to a minimum.

The Warsaw Area Career Center, housed in Warsaw Community High School but encompassing Warsaw, Tippecanoe Valley and Whitko school corporations, conducted a workshop Wednesday, Feb. 21, for industry leaders in hopes of bolstering the quality of tomorrow’s job candidates.

Through the workshop, WACC officials hope to create a designation for area students that will classify them as having those intangible elements of character that make great employees. The designation will be known as a Work Ethic Certificate.

“We are putting together a team of individuals, mostly (human resources) managers from across the community, in hopes of designing a work ethic certificate,” said Ronna Kawsky, WACC principal and director.

Jill Jackson, assistant director, explained the certificate in detail.

“A work ethic certificate is backed by the governor and it recognizes students that have not only academic skills, but also the soft skills that are needed as they go to their post-secondary setting, whether that’s college or trade school or straight into the workforce,” Jackson said.

The WACC officials had help in conducting the seminar as a team from the Kosciusko Leadership Academy joined in mission. The team is using this issue as the basis for it’s KLA-required white paper. The KLA members, Eric McCray, Phil Kuhn and Brian Lardino, along with Kawsky and Jackson, hosted a group of leaders from local industry, academia and non-profit organizations for a work session designed to create the certificate’s criteria.

“We want to design a work ethic certificate built around the request of our industry leaders,” Kawsky said. “What skills sets do they see are missing in students, in the employees that they’re hiring and how do we partner with industry to build those skill sets so it’s a win-win for all of us?”

The certificate should be up and running to target this year’s juniors, who will be vying for the certificate next school year as seniors. Educators who see such soft skills as punctuality, initiative or self-motivation can sign off on those elements toward the student’s certificate.

In addition, Kawsky said an embellishment signifying the work ethic certificate is something that can be worn with cap and gown at graduation.

“This is a critical need for our community,” said Rob Parker, president and CEO of the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce, an attendee at Wedneday’s workshop. “It’s critical for businesses to be able to differentiate talent, and by having this certificate in place, it puts a candidate at a level above maybe the other five or six applicants and would let that candidate know what is expected of them from the first day.”