A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Introduction

In an effort to narrow the gap between the skills needed to succeed in today's workplace and the knowledge that education and training programs impart to learners, the United States departments of Education (ED) and Labor (DOL) funded twenty-two business-education-labor partnerships to develop voluntary skill standards for various industries in 1992 and 1993. Of the twenty-two projects, sixteen are funded by ED and six by DOL. These projects identify what workers must know and be able to do to qualify for beginning-to-expert level occupations in various sectors of our nation's economy. These voluntary skill standards can be used by employers, workers, unions, and educators to communicate expectations for occupational skills and to evaluate both the skills of individuals and the success of education and training programs in teaching those skills. The standards will promote lifelong learning, raise workforce skills, and encourage changes in workplace practices to increase productivity and to improve the quality of goods and services produced. Since 1992, more than $40 million in federal and non-federal funds have been invested in the development of these voluntary occupational skill standards. It is estimated that these twenty-two projects potentially cover about 17.5 million workers or 18.4 percent of the 95.0 million workers in the employment universe (Institute for Educational Leadership, 1994).

These projects have used different approaches to define the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform a job. Some have used the traditional task analysis approach, others have used the generic approach, that is, they defined knowledge and skills in general terms. Others have used the scenario approach which illustrates a real-life work situation, a routine procedure and an unanticipated problem the student must master.

This is the second edition of this publication. The first edition was published in Spring 1994 and provided abstracts of the twenty-two projects and an executive summary of the report, "A Study of Business and Education Skill Standards." This edition provides brief descriptions and the current status of the twenty-two projects. Each summary describes a project in terms of the industry represented, the occupations for which skill standards have been developed, federal funds received, non-federal funds contributed (50 percent match required for the ED projects and 100 percent required for DOL projects), when standards and other deliverables will be available, a description of the standards document and companion document(s), excerpt(s) of sample standard(s), and the identification of project contact person(s). The publication also contains a matrix which depicts the following: industry and lead organization, status of a skill standard document, certification level(s), numbers of occupations for which standards are being developed, planned companion document(s), federal and nonfederal funds, the level of education for which standards are targeted and the job analysis method used to validate the standards. The twenty-two skill standards projects will result in the development and validation of at least sixty sets of voluntary occupational skill standards by late 1996.

This publication will serve as a valuable resource to the business, labor, education, and training communities interested in using these standards to inform their activities. The products available from these projects should help each of these communities in their efforts to promote productivity and contribute to the development of a workforce prepared for the 21st century.

Patricia W. McNeil
Acting Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education
United States Department of Education

Timothy Barnicle
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Adminstration
United States Department of Labor
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