the new workplace readiness skills for the commonwealth
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George Willcox:. The New Workplace Readiness Skills for the Commonwealth. George R. Willcox CTE Cluster Coordinator Virginia Department of Education January 2011. Virginia’s Changing Workplace. Research has continuously confirmed the need for workplace readiness skills for Virginia. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
George R. WillcoxCTE Cluster CoordinatorVirginia Department of EducationJanuary 2011
George Willcox:George Willcox:
Virginia’s Changing Workplace
Research has continuously confirmed the need for workplace readiness skills for Virginia.
1997
The 1997 Research Led to the First Workplace Readiness Skills for Virginia 1. Reading
2. Mathematics3. Writing4. Speaking & Listening5. Computer Literacy6. Reasoning, Problem Solving,
Decision Making7. Understanding the Big Picture8. Work Ethic9. Positive Attitude10. Independence and Initiative11. Self-presentation12. Satisfactory Attendance13. Teamwork
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
The Process for UpdatingWorkplace Readiness Skills List•Reviewed current list•Researched current skills literature, including
more than 30 education and workplace studies•Reviewed WRS plans in other states, including
New Jersey, Ohio, and Texas• Identified gaps in current list, based on
research•Collected and analyzed employer comments•Created new skills list
Final Workplace Readiness Skills 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 ServiceTechnology Knowledge & Skills
• Job-Specific Technologies
• Information Technology
• Internet Use & Security
•Telecommunications
The New List Is Finished. Now What? 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 become “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 e-mail message, June 1, 2010, for implementation 2010–2011
Implementing the New WRS in the Classroom: What This Means for Teachers The 21 skills now appear as the first 21 tasks
in every CTE course in Verso.
These skills are marked “essential” and must be taught.
Just like your course-specific tasks, each WRS has a task definition and related SOL.
Each task number is linked to a variety of instructional resources that have been combined from many sources.
Use and InfuseCrosswalk your course tasks/competencies to the new WRS
Look for tasks where you might already be covering a WRS.
For example, you may already be teaching a task similar to “Explore career and college options for life-long learning.” If so, you are most likely addressing WRS # 13 and 14.
When you teach and evaluate a student’s performance on this course-specific task, you may also be able to document his or her performance on these two WRS.
If you are not already teaching all of the WRS somewhere in your course . . . Use the many WRS resources we have provided for you within your course framework, including
background information instructional activities lesson plans Web sites.
Evaluating Student Performance
Just as in the task list, the New WRS also appear in the student competency record as the first 21 tasks.
The New WRS will soon have a new industry credential.
They are all marked “essential” and must be taught and rated.
A new WRS is being developed now and will be ready for use in the spring semester 2011.
It will stand alone as a certification (the current version has to be combined with another test to count, IC3).
In Summary . . .
The New Workplace Readiness Skills for the Commonwealth are well researched are up to date are reflective of Virginia employer needs are incorporated into all CTE courses come with many teaching resources will have a new industry credential.
Questions?
Peggy Watson, Center AdministratorCTE Resource [email protected]://cteresource.org
Note: Special thanks to the CTE Resource Center for
assistance in preparing this presentation.
Questions?Virginia Department of EducationLolita B. Hall, CTE Director804 225-2847, [email protected]. Anne Rowe, CTE Coordinator804 225-2838, [email protected] R. Willcox, CTE Coordinator804 225-2839, [email protected] Creasy, Credentialing Specialist804 225-2057, [email protected]