Giving Compass' Take:

• At Education Dive, Linda Jacobson describes USC program's efforts to develop teens' skills outside of STEM, focusing on adaptability and communication.

• In the booming age of technology, how do we often overlook the importance of interpersonal skills? How can you help support the development of programs such as this one?

• Learn about the development of 'soft skills' and how to assess them.

Adaptability is a competitive advantage, Chris Swain, a product designer, entrepreneur and lecturer at the University of Southern California, tells the young men and women gathered for his presentation.

Swain, who founded the Electronic Arts Game Innovation Lab at USC in Los Angeles, gives this talk to executives from companies such as IBM, Google and United Airlines as part of the leadership training delivered by the university’s Center for Third Space Thinking. Founded in 2017 by Ernest Wilson, former dean of the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at USC, the center teaches the "soft skills” corporations say they are looking for in employees.

"We’re always like, ‘It would be so great to go to [Los Angeles] and get the vibe of what it’s like to be with other filmmakers,'" said Oscar Perez, a senior at Atwater High School in Atwater, California, who recently entered his short film "Insular Counselor" into a SkillsUSA competition.

But Perez, whose parents both work in the agriculture industry, also understands collaboration and patience are important in the career he wants to pursue. "If you can’t work with other people," he said, "don't work in film."

As part of their exposure to digital storytelling and photography, the students are also learning about the skills the center has identified will help them be successful in their careers. In addition to adaptability, there’s cultural competency, empathy, intellectual curiosity and 360-degree thinking — understanding multiple perspectives. The center calls these the “counterpart to STEM.”

Such skills are a leading topic in business publications, and a study conducted by researchers at MIT Sloan School of Management showed that providing training to employees on areas such as communication, problem solving and decision-making improved productivity.

Read the full article about helping teens develop skills beyond technology by Linda Jacobson at Education Dive.