CompuServe Thread

NATIONAL SKILL STANDARDS IN THE U.S.A. by: H. Wayne Hodgins (72137,1460) Technical Director Customer Education & Training Autodesk Inc. Skill standards have reached new heights of importance and recognition as a key component in the ongoing efforts by the USA and most other countries to achieve global competitiveness. This was recently evidenced in President Clintons State of the Union Address on January 26 of this year when he said We must set tough world-class academic and occupational standards for all our children and give our teachers and students the tools they need to meet them. While this statement was made in the context of education, it is being approached from a school to work type of perspective, with industry in the first role of leadership relative to identifying what is needed in the work force; hence, skills standards. Under the leadership of Secretaries Richard Riley and Robert Reich, the US. Departments of Education and Labor have intensified their commitment to the development of a national system of voluntary skill standards and certification. Most recently, the Administration introduced the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. This act underscores the need to strengthen the connection between education and employment specifically through the establishment of a National Skill Standards Board. This Board will ensure a framework for the development and implementation of a national system of voluntary skill standards and certification through voluntary partnerships which have the full and balanced participation of business, industry, labor, educations and other key groups. Skill standards identify what workers need to know to perform well on the job. The people best suited to determine skill standards are the workers themselves. Each project is developing a list of skills for an occupation or occupational area they have chosen. The skills must be generic, core, entry-level and national which means that workers in a given industry or occupation must possess the same set of basic skills regardless of their state or region. The adoption of skill standards is voluntary and will not be mandated by the federal government. Skill standards are intended to help industry by improving the skills of the work force. They also assist educators and trainers in the development of their curriculum and they ensure that students develop the skills necessary for employment in industry. For decades America has lead the competitive advantage in the world marketplace on the basis of superior mass production. Now we find ourselves in a new economic environment where this track record is no longer sufficient to ensure our continued success. Today, there is increased emphasis on quality, variety, timeliness, customization and convenience. Furthermore, with the increased mobility of capital and technology, it is easy to replicate the factors of production anywhere in the world, with one exception – workforce skills. The skills, adaptability, creativity and knowledge of American workers must be the foundation for our continued competitiveness. Our problem lies in the lack of connection between the skills needed in the workplace and the skills imparted through education and training. We are further hindered by the limited range of nationally recognized credentials; these are usually reserved for the college-educated with few options for the 75 percent of Americans who do not obtain a four-year degree. This results in increased hiring and training costs, restricted employment opportunities, lack of quality assurance and a direct challenge to our abilities to compete. There is a emerging consensus in America that a national skills standard and certification system is the natural cornerstone of our workforce development strategy. BENEFITS: Skill standards are beneficial to all sectors of the economy. With continued support from industry, they can provide benefits to: INDUSTRY: by improving the skills of the workforce thus enabling companies to hire more competent workers; EMPLOYERS: by providing a hiring measure when considering prospective job applicants; LABOR; by increasing their members employment security through access to competency-based training and certification; WORKERS; by providing a way to prove their competency to themselves and their employers and obtaining a credential that will provide portability of skills; EDUCATORS/TRAINERS; by allowing them to teach according to industry standards and better prepare students for entry into the workforce; GOVERNMENT; by protecting the integrity of public expenditures by requiring that employment-related training meet industry standards where they exist. It should furthermore be noted that while this information is specific to the US situation, the issue of work force skills and standards is shared internationally. This increased the value and importance of work in this area as solutions and efforts in these directions will be of benefit to all that undertake them regardless of geography or other delineating factors. wayne