Transcript The Latest in Online Resources from the CTE Resource Center

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.
1997
The 1997 Research Led to the First
Workplace Readiness Skills for Virginia
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Reading
Mathematics
Writing
Speaking & Listening
Computer Literacy
Reasoning, Problem Solving,
Decision Making
Understanding the Big Picture
Work Ethic
Positive Attitude
Independence and Initiative
Self-presentation
Satisfactory Attendance
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 Updating
Workplace 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 List
Personal Qualities & People Skills
• Positive Work Ethic
• Integrity
• Teamwork
• Self-Representation
• Diversity Awareness
• Conflict Resolution
• Creativity & Resourcefulness
Technology Knowledge & Skills
• Job-Specific Technologies
• Information Technology
• Internet Use & Security
• Telecommunications
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 Service
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 Infuse
Crosswalk 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 lifelong 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.
 They are all marked “essential” and must be taught and
rated.
The New WRS will soon have a new industry
credential.
 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 Administrator
CTE Resource Center
804-673-3778
[email protected]
http://cteresource.org
Note: Special thanks to the CTE Resource Center for
assistance in preparing this presentation.
Questions?
Virginia Department of Education
Lolita B. Hall, CTE Director
804 225-2847, [email protected]
B. Anne Rowe, CTE Coordinator
804 225-2838, [email protected]
George R. Willcox, CTE Coordinator
804 225-2839, [email protected]
Gordon Creasy, Credentialing Specialist
804 225-2057, [email protected]