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The New Workplace
Readiness Skills for the
CommonwealthVirginia’s Research-Based
Approach to Teaching and Testing Employability and Life Skills
CTECS Community of PracticeNovember 9-10, 2011
A list of personal qualities and people skills, professional knowledge and skills, and
technology knowledge and skills identified by Virginia employers as essential for individual
workplace success and critical to Virginia’s economic competitiveness.
Virginia’s Definition of Workplace Readiness Skills:
:
Workplace Readiness: A Moving TargetCTE aims to give students the skills to succeed in the
workplace, but this is a moving target.
A 1950s education won’t prepare students for a 21st century
occupation.
Virginia’s Changing WorkplaceResearch has continuously confirmed the need
for workplace readiness skills for Virginia.
1997
The 1997 Research Led to the First WRS for Virginia
• Reading• Mathematics• Writing• Speaking & Listening• Computer Literacy• Reasoning, Problem Solving,
Decision Making• Understanding the Big Picture• Work Ethic• Positive Attitude• Independence and Initiative• Self-presentation• Satisfactory Attendance• Teamwork
Why Update? What Has Changed Since the 1990s?
The economy has evolved and so have the ways we work.
“21st Century Skills” has provided some of the most important research.
The Players• Virginia Department of Education
• Demographics and Workforce Group of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, University of Virginia
• Career and Technical Education Consortium of States (CTECS)
• Virginia’s CTE Resource Center
Demographics & Workforce Group,University of Virginia
Employers Want Schools to Teach WRS
Who Should Be Responsible for Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills?
Source: Are They Really Ready for Work, 2006
The Process for Updating the WRS List
“Very Important Skills”for HS Graduates
Percent Ranking Skills as “Very Important” for High School Graduates
Source: Are They Really Ready for Work, 2006
Why Do Academic Skills Have Lower Ratings?
Because they are usually job specific.
Most Applied Skills areUniversally Needed
Integrity
Critical thinking
Work ethic Time management
Health & safety
Conflict Resolution
Final WRS ListPersonal Qualities & People Skills
•Positive Work Ethic
• Integrity
•Teamwork
•Self-Representation
•Diversity Awareness
•Conflict Resolution
•Creativity & Resourcefulness
Professional Knowledge & Skills
•Speaking & Listening
•Reading & Writing
•Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
•Health & Safety
•Organizations, Systems, & Climates
•Lifelong Learning
• Job Acquisition & Advancement
•Time, Task, & Resource Management
•Mathematics
•Customer Service
Technology Knowledge & Skills
• Job-Specific Technologies
• Information Technology
• Internet Use & Security
•Telecommunications
Chapter 2 The new list was completed…and then Virginia
• Introduced to the CTE Advisory Committee and CTE administrators across the state, April 2010
• Converted skills list into appropriate format for Virginia’s CTE curriculum, Spring 2010
(Skills became “tasks” with task definitions to amplify and describe the skills.)
• Researched and developed instructional resources to complement all WRS tasks, Spring 2010• Introduced in a Verso email message, June
1, 2010, for implementation 2010-11
The New WRS Are OrganicExample:
Sustainability
Teaching the WRS
WRS
Technical tasks
Full course
The WRS can be infused throughout the course or
taught as an instructional unit
Use WRS to Complement and Reinforce Technical Competencies
WRS resources provided within each course framework include
background information instructional activities lesson plans Web sites.
Chapter 3Revision
Instructio
n
Assessmen
t
Credential/Verified
Credit
Timeline for the New Industry Credential for the New WRS
Virginia and CTECS worked to identify and develop test items, to conduct an assessment
pilot, and to launch this stand-alone credential.
Sept 2010: Experts’ meeting to ID test items
March 2011: Pilot successfully completed; cut score determined
April 2011: Full implementation of assessment
The CTECS-ProvidedVirginia WRS Assessment
• This new assessment replaces other tests that were used in the past to assess WRS
• Reasonable price ($9.00)• Now offering a pretest ($6.00)• Certificate of successful completion
provided and can be used for verified graduation credit
Initial Statistics onthe WRS Assessment• Began offering the assessment
April 2011• 100-item multiple-choice test• 60-minute timed test• 3,693 students tested initially
• 2,400 students passed (65% pass rate)
• 75% cut score
In SummaryThe New Workplace Readiness
Skills for the Commonwealth• are well researched and up to date• are reflective of Virginia employer
needs• are incorporated into all CTE courses• come with many teaching resources
• are being assessed• are leading to an industry-
acknowledged and respected credential and are earning student-selected verified credit.
Peggy WatsonCTE Resource Center
http://cteresource.org
Questions?
