Life Skills with a Twist?
How about a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon with your Communication Skills? Hong Kong training company ChiLab has come up with the novel idea of combining Life Skills training with a basic Wine Appreciation course.
“L.A.W.S for Living” is the catchy title of this particular program (Life and Wine Skills for Living) which combines some basic work on areas such as changing habits, creativity and communication skills, with a lively delivery on the foundation of wine knowledge.
“I guess this is something of an indulgence for us,” said ChiLab Managing Director Bruce Stinson.
“Both myself and Program Manager Anastasia Mak love wine and Anastasia is quite an experienced and qualified wine teacher.
“So we thought: why not combine our core business, which is teaching a range of Life Skills, with a short presentation to help people feel more comfortable in choosing and appreciating wine?
"We see this program as having several purposes. Companies can use it as a reward for their people because it is very much an enjoyable experience. Underlying that there is a solid base of important knowledge on how to handle the everyday challenges in the work place. Finally, the wine knowledge can also be very helpful for those who have to entertain clients as part of their duties. However, even considering all of those positive outcomes for the company which might enrol their people, like all of our work, the major beneficiary is the participant. It's all about them."
The more conventional side of ChiLab’s activities ranges from an eight-module Life Skills course to a three-month Relationship Orientation Certificate Program developed specifically for the logistics industry. It is all based around changing habits to change outcomes.
“When I came to Hong Kong fourteen years ago, I left behind a successful personal skills training operation I had developed in Australia,” Mr. Stinson said.
“Initially I was too busy to even think about it here with media commitments and other work – that’s Hong Kong - but over recent years I have noticed an increase in the number of articles and letters to the editor bemoaning the lack of creativity and innovation in the local work force.
“It got me thinking that the work we did in Australia has plenty of relevance to modern-day Hong Kong, especially when I read that Hong Kong people work longer hours than any of 60 developed countries yet we rate around 29th in productivity. No wonder there is plenty written on the subject.
“Of course, we have spent a lot of time updating and modernizing the program under the advice of educators and psychologists, but the fact is the type of skills, which were seen as lacking locally, don’t change all that much over the years.
“What amazes me is that even the most popular and best-selling personal development programs down the ages seem to tell people what they need to change without ever giving them the key to achieving that change.
“It’s almost a secret, yet you won’t even find it in the recent runaway best seller The Secret, which claims the ability to change peoples’ lives.
“That key - we call it The Chilab Method - which we teach every student, is the fundamental building block of our work and it is very simple. It can be used from the most basic application such as weight control to the most complex such as advanced leadership.”
ChiLab has a dedicated training office on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui and all of their programs are backed up by online learning modules and tutored forums.