When the data for all eight career clusters was analyzed and compared, several conclusions were drawn that have important implications for curriculum development.

1. Some foundation (SCAN) skills emerged as being more critical than others in the IT field. The ones that received the most emphasis are the following:

   Workplace Skills

   • Project management
   • Task Management
   • Problem Solving
   • Reporting, Communication and Presentation Skills
   • Team Environment
   • Self-Directed and Continuous Learning

2. Some of the foundation skills appeared as elements of the development cycle underlying all work in the IT field.

   Development Cycle Skills

   • Analysis
   • Design
   • Development
   • Testing
   • Implementation
   • Documentation

3. Another core competency that is also considered a foundation skill in the SCANS report is the ability to apply technical skills. There were some common computer skills that were identified as being important in each of the eight career clusters. The level of proficiency required varied across the clusters.

   Technical Skills

   • Software Applications
   • Hardware
   • Internet
   • Programming
   • Networking and Operating Systems

The level of proficiency required in each of the core competencies varies between and among the eight career clusters. The emphasis on each of the core competencies varies for each of the clusters and the context for their application may be different. The core competencies described in more detail in this section are the ones that received the greatest emphasis in the IT skill standards.

For all core competency areas, use the individual career cluster standard as the reference point to establish the specific performance expectation. The criteria for performance must be to the level in the standard in order to meet the industry IT skill standard expectation.