Reframe soft skills as essential workplace literacy by uncovering hidden norms and inequities in social capital. Educators and decision-makers will be equipped with practical strategies to teach, measure, and advocate.
About This Session
Description
Soft skills aren’t optional—they’re essential workplace literacy. This interactive session reframes “soft skills” as critical competencies that directly impact job success, persistence, and advancement. Explore the hidden rules and unspoken expectations that often determine workplace success—and how gaps in access to social capital puts many adult learners at a disadvantage.
Participants will walk away with practical, classroom-ready strategies for making these skills visible, teachable, and measurable, and be prepared to confidently advocate for soft skills instruction as a core component of work readiness and program success.
What we'll cover:
In this engaging session, participants will explore how soft skills function as essential workplace literacy—a set of critical, learnable competencies that shape job success, retention, and advancement. Rather than treating soft skills as optional or intuitive, this course brings to life the unwritten rules that drive workplace expectations and outcomes.
Through guided discussions and interactive instruction, we will achieve the following objectives: define soft skills as workplace literacy and explain their impact on learner success; distinguish between implicit and explicit job expectations; explain how gaps in social capital impact learner outcomes; integrate soft skills into course content; and explore strategies to promote workplace literacy as a core component of program design and student success.
Topics & Focus
Primary Topic Area
Session will also cover:
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A note from the presenter:
Bring a notebook, pen, and open mind ready to learn how to “read the room” at work.
Handouts & Materials
No handouts or materials available at this time.
“Name of Session” – session presentation slides (PDF)
Name of Document – lesson sample (PDF)
Name of Document (PDF)
Name of Document – infographic (JPG)
Presenter
Catherine D. Netter, MS
Professional Development Center Specialist
TCALL (Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy & Learning)
Visit TCALL in the conference Exhibitor Area!
Catherine D. Netter is a Professional Development Center Specialist at the Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy & Learning (TCALL) at Texas A&M University. She holds a master’s degree in adult education and brings extensive cross-sector experience in education, workforce development, and the criminal justice system.
Catherine has served as a training specialist in leadership and equity studies across the US and as an adjunct instructor in criminal justice, law enforcement academies, and continuing education at multiple community colleges. Her professional background also includes roles as a law enforcement supervisor in detention services, background investigator and recruiter, executive administrative director, and adult probation and parole officer. In addition, she is certified in training and facilitation by the Association of Talent Development.
Catherine’s diverse experience—from K–12 classrooms to justice-involved populations—deeply informs her work supporting adult educators and workforce professionals.
Breakout26 – NETTER
Page checked or updated: 6/11/2026
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