|
Why Use Skill Standards?
Skill standards address the global shift to an economy based on knowledge and
information and the need for higher levels of skill within the workforce. Like
never before, education is challenged to restructure itself to prepare that new
workforce. A well established skill standards system is a proven way of
addressing educational gaps. Skill standards have several important benefits:
-
Industry-identified skill standards will serve as a vehicle for companies to
communicate their performance expectations for workers. Skill standards will
provide a common framework for communication of workplace expectations between
business, education, workers, students, and government.
-
Voluntary skill standards will facilitate the reform of education to match the
curriculum to workplace requirements. Competency-based standards will assure
the employability of students who have completed programs based on those
standards. National recognition of skill standards in career fields will
provide a common basis for certifying achievement against those standards,
thereby allowing for the portability of skills across companies and careers.
-
Skill standards will close the qualification gap by linking industry
expectations for knowledge, skills, and abilities to the education provided to
students. Skill standards will provide workplace expectations, so students know
what they need to be able to do to meet those expectations, workers understand
what is expected to perform and advance in their field, and educators can
discern the competencies on which the curriculum is developed.
|
|
|