Workforce Development
At the Center for Third Space Thinking we offer executive leadership training opportunities specifically designed for companies and their high-performers. These leadership development opportunities help companies and employees unlock innovation, break down silos and drive collaboration across functions, create more diverse and higher performing cultures, enhance organizational performance and transform workplaces.
Third Space Trainings
Third Space Experience
Third Space Experience: The Third Space Experience is an immersive, one-day, custom, facilitated workshop held at a company site. It is designed to address a specific challenge faced by an organization and equip the participants with the knowledge they need to apply the new problem-solving framework.
Third Space Boot Camp
Third Space Boot Camp is a highly interactive leadership development program held in the state-of-the-art Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism on the USC campus.
Who Will Attend
The Soft Skills Boot Camp is designed for high performers with 5 to 10 years’ experience in corporations, nonprofits, government and startups with existing roles in communications, human resources, strategic planning, finance, marketing, legal, sales and technology.
Participating companies have included: Google, IBM, Western Union, United Airlines, Southern California Edison, AECOM, Quest Diagnostics and more.
You'll Learn How To
- Measure your current soft skills proficiency with our proprietary Third Space Thinking Assessment available only to boot camp participants
- Employ critical leadership skills to navigate the C-suite and influence stakeholders
- Build empathy to improve employee, customer and stakeholder relationships
- Become a better problem solver to increase program success
- Unlock innovative ideas that help drive organizational collaboration
- Increase professional performance to provide you and your company a competitive advantage
Added Bonus
- Attendees will receive a certificate in LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT from USC Annenberg
- A new onsite + online format to save you time and money
- Build your professional network at the Boot Camp and with our Third Space Thinking problem-solving app
- A private, one-on-one session with a professional certified coach
Customized Programs
China Programs
USC Annenberg designs 'best in class' courses for global media companies, corporations, government officials and research foundations throughout China, enabling them to meet their existing and growing needs. We combine academic courses with case studies and industry expertise to deliver customized programs tailored to each client’s unique culture and objective. Programs are taught in English with Chinese translation.
College
At the Center for Third Space Thinking we’re also beginning to equip students with the essential soft skills and critical thinking that is required for success in today’s complex and ever-changing world. Contrary to popular belief, we believe these soft skills can be taught.
The first course currently being taught is:
Professional Effectiveness: Building a Career Using Third Space Thinking
Applying the Third Space methodology and the critical competencies of Adaptability, Cultural Competency, Empathy, Intellectual Curiosity and 360 Degree Thinking students plot a career course leveraging their core strengths.
Other courses in development include:
The changing world of Communication & Journalism
This class provides students with two sets of essential competencies they will need to be successful in their career: what it means to major in the field of communication, journalism and public relations and how to use the Third Space Thinking framework to build communication and problem-solving skills to better prepare them for a professional career.
Life design workshop: Applying third space thinking to your life
Students apply the Third Space Thinking framework to the wicked problem of crafting a personalized road map for their life after college. Students build ACE-IT skills and self-awareness via assessments and in-class exercises.
Third space industry workshop
In this course, students engage with a partner from industry – such as a corporation, non-profit, or local government entity – and use Third Space Thinking tools to propose tangible solutions that will help the partner with a real world problem.
High School
At the Center for Third Space Thinking, we are committed to sharing our knowledge with diverse and less fortunate communities who deserve to benefit from soft skills development. Over the past academic year, we have engaged with more than 150 youth from South Los Angeles, East Los Angeles, Boyle Heights Watts and Merced. Third Space has developed and delivered workshops aimed at building soft skills based on the Third Space Thinking methodology and the five core attributes. To date, we have engaged young people through the following programs:
The USC Annenberg Center for Third Space Thinking hosted a group of 60 migrant high school students for the Third Space Youth Institute. Students were introduced to the critical soft skills necessary to prepare them for a successful future: college readiness, career development, building presentation skills, and personal branding.
Third Space Youth institute
The Third Space Youth Institute engages high school students with essential soft skills that are critical for success in college and the workplace. Students learn about college and career readiness, building presentation skills, professional networking and personal branding. At the end of the Third Space Youth Institute, students have a full grasp of how they can incorporate the ACE-IT toolkit for problem solving into their own careers.
Annenberg Media Institute
During the Annenberg Media Institute for Youth & Educators, we welcomed students and teachers from the Merced Union High School District to a 3-day media production program. This is a residential learning program where students learn about digital storytelling, video production, soft skill development and other other communication skills so that they have the tools to achieve success in their future careers.
Hybrid High
In January 2020, high school students from USC Hybrid High College Prep - Powered by Ednovate and USC Rossier School of Education joined us for a pilot program to explore how the ACE-IT model can be used to facilitate soft skill development and empower student success in their desired career path. During the program, students were equipped with the tools to reach their full potential with the ACE-IT framework which focuses on Adaptability, Cultural Competency, Empathy, Intellectual Curiosity, and 360-Degree Thinking. They also applied those essential skills to their own goals so that they could be college and career ready.
The Center for Third Space Thinking continues to look for additional opportunities to provide communication and leadership development training through workshops, classes and individual consultation for underserved populations throughout the Los Angeles area.