A job candidate's skill set can often be a deciding factor to landing a new job or getting promoted. To help workers improve their skill set and make themselves more marketable, CareerBuilder.com has launched CBInstitute.com, a new site featuring hundreds of online courses.

Courses on CBInstitute.com are designed and created by leading industry specialists and content is gathered from years of research from subject matter experts in areas such as:

  --  Computer skills
  --  Business skills
  --  Management and leadership skills
  --  Sales training
  --  Language training
  --  Licensing and Certifications
  --  Assessments

From soft skills like business etiquette and time management to hard skills like language and typing courses, CBInstitute.com offers a wide range of topics. Those looking to sharpen their Spanish or German skills, get a certification in customer service or learn the basics of Microsoft Excel, among others, can conveniently take courses on their own timetable. Additionally, free demonstrations are available for any course so workers can try different courses on for size.

"Many workers may wonder how they can find the time to hone their skills, and the answer is the Internet -- it's an accessible solution that provides engaging content and flexible scheduling," said Christian Idiodi, Director of CBInstitute.com, a division of CareerBuilder.com. "CBInstitute.com offers easy-to-use online courses at all levels to help employees get ahead in their current jobs or improve their skills to land the job they aspire to have. CBInstitute.com also allows workers to read advice articles, exercise their brains and download job aids."

Employers agree that online courses are beneficial to workers. In fact, a recent CareerBuilder.com survey of more than 2,700 hiring managers found that three-in-four (76 percent) of employers think online courses are helpful in providing workers with supplementary training and education.

In addition, candidates who polish their skills can separate themselves from the pack to help land a job. According to the survey, 64 percent of employers find social interview skills and the ability to communicate well the most important to them when considering a potential employee. The next most important skills to employers include critical thinking (63 percent), time management (63 percent), good customer service (55 percent), ethical business choices (39 percent) and the ability to market and sell efficiently (24 percent).

And it doesn't stop at the interview. Once candidates land a position, employers expect them to consistently improve upon their skill set too. Many employers want their employees to sharpen their skills in common office software programs such as Microsoft Excel (44 percent) along with their time management (62 percent), customer service (45 percent), leadership (39 percent), interpersonal skills (33 percent), business etiquette (26 percent) and business ethics (17 percent).

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 2,757 hiring managers and human resource professionals (employed full-time; not self-employed; with at least significant involvement in hiring decisions) ages 18 and over between February 11, and March 13, 2008, respectively (percentages for some questions are based on a subset US Employers, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 2,757 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.87 percentage points and, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CBInstitute.com

CBInstitute.com is a division of CareerBuilder.com, the nation's largest online job site with more than 23 million unique visitors and over 1.6 million jobs. CBInstitute.com develops online courses to help employees and job seekers get ahead in their current jobs or improve their skills to find the right job. Courses on CBInsitute.com are designed and created by leading industry specialists and content is gathered from years of research from subject matter experts; course offerings include computer skills, business skills, management and leadership skills, sales training, language education and more. Find out more at http://www.cbinstitute.com/.

About CareerBuilder.com

CareerBuilder.com is the nation's largest online job site with more than 23 million unique visitors and over 1.6 million jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. , Tribune Company, The McClatchy Company and Microsoft Corp. , the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers for more than 1,600 partners, including 140 newspapers and leading portals such as AOL and MSN. More than 300,000 employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com's easy job postings, 26 million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. CareerBuilder.com and its subsidiaries operate in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com/.

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SOURCE: CareerBuilder.com