CURRICULUM
It is our hope that individuals have been prepared through their high school programs with the following skills. These foundational skills are essential for employment through PRIDE Ventures Inc. or any other professional entity of the community. If however, these skills need to be refined, we will provide training and assistance to help individuals reach a standard of professionalism to increase their employability.
Pre-Job Skills
Workplace Ready Skills
On the Job Skills
Working on the Retail Floor
Using a Cash Register
Biscuit Preparation
Cleaning and Maintenance
Habits of Wellness
- Build and present a professional resume
- Maintain conversation and expand on resume components
- Complete a job application as independently as possible
- Present oneself professionally for an interview
- Participate in a face-to-face interview displaying job-ready skills
Workplace Ready Skills
- Understand the importance of displaying good personal hygiene in the work place
- Demonstrate good hygiene habits everyday by coming to work freshly showered and groomed
- Express professionalism by wearing uniform or attire that fits appropriately and displays care of appearance.
- Understand how the work week schedule is displayed and finding their hours of employment.
- Practice communication skills by creating a home to work connection (ie: arranging transportation to and from work, communicating with an employer when there is a conflict)
- Arrive to work on-time
- Learn the routine for clocking in and out
- Maintain personal belongings neatly in the space provided by employer (ie: locker, cubby, etc.)
- Acquire a sense of responsibility by being an employee of Pride Ventures Inc., and completing the above tasks on a consistent basis.
The work place environment created by Pride Ventures Inc. offers numerous opportunities for individuals to display their strengths and learn new skills in a place of employment. The following areas and skills will be taught and assessed during a 200 hour, non-paid training period.
On the Job Skills
Working on the Retail Floor
- Understand overall design and organization of products.
- Identify products by name for retail and customer service purposes.
- Recognize when products and displays need to be restocked or neatened.
- Restock and organize displays neatly.
- Use inventory checklists when restocking from stock room to floor display.
- Enter and update inventory data into computer.
- Greet customers openly and politely by welcoming them into store.
- Ask customers one time if they need help with anything.
- Practice proper aspects of body language including eye contact, personal space, and tone of voice when speaking to customers.
- Be able to answer customer questions efficiently or seek assistance if needed.
- Be able to point customers to certain products or items in the store.
- If a dog enters our store, ask the owner nicely for permission to pet the dog.
Using a Cash Register
- Learn the functionality of the cash register and be able to operate independently.
- Arrange money in register drawer with bills facing the same direction in descending value order and coins in the correct pocket.
- Handle the money properly and neatly with two hands.
- Use the register to calculate a total for the customer's purchase.
- State the total to customer politely.
- Wait patiently for the customer to present money.
- Count the money given by customer to double check the amount.
- Count out the correct amount of change using the principle of money distribution.
- Hand change and receipt to customers in an organized manner.
- Provide a statement of thanks and wishes for a good day.
Biscuit Preparation
- Practice good hygiene by having hands washes, attire out of the way, and hair pulled back.
- Read the recipe.
- Identify ingredients and measuring spoons and cups.
- Measure-out correct amount of each ingredient.
- Follow recipe steps for batter preparation.
- Practice safety skills around kitchen appliances such as electric mixers and hot ovens.
- Roll dough using a rolling pin.
- Create a flat usable sheet of dough for stamping biscuits
- Stamp out biscuits using cookie cutters.
- Place uncooked biscuits on cookie sheet utilizing space and organization.
- Follow recipe directions to set timer.
- Place biscuits in an oven and start the timer.
- Remove the biscuits from oven safely.
- Transfer biscuits to a cooling area.
- Recognize when biscuits are cooled and ready to be bagged.
- Use a food scale to measure out 8 ounces per bag.
- Package biscuits using labels neatly.
Cleaning and Maintenance
- Understand hazards of chemicals around food in the kitchen.
- Practice safety when using hot water, soap, or chemicals for cleaning.
- Clean biscuit prep work space.
- Clean, dry and put away biscuit prep dishes and utensils.
- Sweep kitchen floor.
- Vacuum carpeted areas.
- Wipe down all surfaces on the retail floor.
- Clean display windows.
- Clean bathrooms.
- Take out the garbage
Habits of Wellness
- Identify the causes for stress in the workplace.
- Develop a personal plan for reducing stress if it becomes too high or overwhelming.
- Discuss how to avoid being vulnerable in the workplace.
- Identify people in the workplace who can help you.
- Identify common safety hazards on the job and ways to correct them.
- Identify safe and unsafe work practices.
- Analyze rules and regulations as they apply to safety on the job.
- Describe the guidelines and procedures for reacting to an emergency situation on the job.
- Draw a layout of the workplace and plan an escape route in case of an emergency.
- Know the meeting point outside the workplace in case of an emergency.
- Discuss ways to handle conflicts with colleagues on the job.
- Know where the first aid kit and telephone are in case of an emergency.
- Express a sense of PRIDE in accomplishment and achievement by giving and receiving praise.
- Display self-advocacy skills in the workplace.