The 32 (and growing) MindSage lessons map to the following 10 core durable skills as identified by www.americasucceeds.org:

Character

Collaboration

Communication

Creativity

Critical Thinking

Fortitude

Leadership

Growth Mindset

Metacognition

Leadership

No.

While the purpose and mission of MindSage are to assist young people to be well prepared and thrive in the workplace, anyone who wants to develop their professional skills can benefit from MindSage training and program.

Keep in mind that the concepts in MindSage lessons are based on actual soft skill courses taught by some of the most innovative companies, organizations, and educational institutions: Apple, Google, Indeed.com, Monster.com, and hbr.org (Harvard Business Review).

In order to emphasize the need to shift from a classroom mentality or mindset to a workplace mentality/mindset, our training program is sometimes referred to as an internship.

We want participants to view the program as an audition for the workplace. It is a chance to find out for themselves how prepared they really are to thrive in the workplace from day one.

In addition, our program has been used by companies as the basis of their internship.

Finally, the original program was developed as an internship program in order to level up the skills of interns who were woefully lacking the ability to think for themselves, take the initiative and contribute in a real-world workplace environment.

Yes. There are three tiers, 1) Professional Training Completion (PTC) certificate, 2) Professional Skills Proficiency (PSP) certificate, and the highest, 3) a Professional Skills Mastery (PSM) certificate.

To earn a Professional Training Completion Certificate (PTC), you need to complete all three CPS (Core professional skills) training courses. You can do this on your own, or in a workshop format.

If you take the CPS courses in workshop format, your performance rating has no bearing on earning the PTC certificate.

• The PTC Certificate or Badge indicates that you have completed all three CPS sessions.

To earn a Professional Skills Proficiency Certificate (PSP), you need to complete all three CPS (Core professional skills) training courses as workshops. This way you are able to apply what you are learning in a real-world work environment and receive work experience. You must receive a performance rating of 3 or higher for all three CPS courses.

• The PSP Certificate indicates that you have completed all three CPS sessions in a real-world work environment, have demonstrated professional durable skills, and have legitimate work experience.

To earn a Professional Skills Mastery Certificate (PSM), you need to complete all three CPS courses in workshop format, receive a performance rating of 3 or higher for all three CPS courses, and take two advanced workshops of your choice.

• The PSM Certificate lets employers know you have consistently demonstrated professional durable skills while working on live projects, and have voluntarily taken additional professional training to make an immediate impact upon being hired.

For our certification to have meaning and value to you and employers, it is imperative that you develop and display the soft skills you are learning in a real-world work environment. A real-world work environment includes working with others in a team setting.

Going through the coursework on your own simply does not allow you the opportunity to apply and hone your new skills in a practical way.

In order for us to provide you with soft skills and work experience, we require you to learn and grow in a team setting. Research shows that only through interaction with others can you sufficiently develop soft skills and be prepared to make meaningful contributions to a hiring company from day one.

Research has proven that people place a higher value on something they have paid for than something they receive for free.

This research backs up what we’ve learned from our pilot and beta programs. Trainees take their professional training more seriously when they are required to pay even a nominal fee.

Compared to soft skill courses that are provided by corporations or college classes, the total cost for completing our courses for our highest tier certificate is about the cost of one class at an average college.

Yes.

But if you are focused on personal growth and development, you should be able to be awarded the required performance rating with little problem.

If, on the other hand, you simply are interested in going through the material as you would any other academic course, without any metacognitive effort, you may find it harder to be awarded a performance score above 3.

Our performance rating is based on a real-world work approach that considers the growth of an individual as well as their ability to collaborate, participate and contribute in a team setting, using a series of questions for peer review.

Focus on leveling up by addressing any negative mindsets, habits, or attitudes. Then develop any lacking mindsets, attitudes, habits, or traits, and you will easily achieve the required performance rating.

Yes, the professional development programs and certificates for teachers follow the same structure and formats as the certificates for students.

The primary differences are additional discussions and meetings designed to assist teachers to include, augment or supplement their existing lesson plans with MindSage concepts and lessons.

Yes. But with just one class. If you wish to use our program with more than one class, or if more than three teachers in your school are using MindSage, please contact us so we can provide you with a limited license agreement or work with you to get MindSage into your school.

Yes. When schools license the MindSage program, we provide a minimum of one hour of PD. Additional training is available upon request.

Teachers who obtain certificates can train other teachers in their school as an option.

No. There are many different training and educational organizations that offer soft skill micro certifications.

Most are aimed at individuals already in the workplace.

MindSage is one of the few programs focused on those about to enter the workplace- young adults.

It is important to note, that most programs allow you to go through the course without any verification that soft skills have actually been developed. Those programs make the mistake of treating soft skill training like teaching academic curricula.

MindSage is the only organization for high school and college students that requires some evidence of growth, possession, and application of the soft skills covered in its lessons through observable demonstration.