1. The New Workplace Readiness Skills for the Commonwealth
Career and Technical Education (CTE) has been around for many, many years, but it is more critical than ever to our nation's economy. Today, we’ll spend some time talking about what it CTE is (and what it is NOT), what it offers our students, and what sorts of resources are available to teachers and students.
Virginia’s Research-Based Approach to Teaching and Testing Employability and Life Skills
CTECS Community of Practice
November 9-10, 2011

2. : Virginia’s Definition of Workplace Readiness Skills:
A list of personal qualities and people skills, professional knowledge and skills, and technology knowledge and skills identified by Virginia employers as essential for individual workplace success and critical to Virginia’s economic competitiveness.

3. Workplace Readiness: A Moving Target
CTE aims to give students the skills to succeed in the workplace, but this is a moving target.
Career and Technical Education succeeds because of the continuous effort to keep curriculum and the classroom experience tied to the real world of work. That is not an easy task. Our economy does not stand still and employers are continually seeking new skills from the workforce.
A 1950s education won’t prepare students for a 21st century occupation
A 1950s education won’t prepare students for a 21st century occupation.

4. Virginia’s Changing Workplace
Research has continuously confirmed the need for workplace readiness skills for Virginia.
1997

5. The 1997 Research Led to the First WRS for Virginia
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
CTE Resource Center

6. Why Update? What Has Changed Since the 1990s?
The economy has evolved and so have the ways we work.
The economy continues to change and skill requirements continue to evolve.
Therefore, in 2008 VDOE decided to reevaluate Virginia’s Workplace Readiness Skills list.
The original project involved substantial and very expensive original research that included hour long interviews with more than 500 employers.
Such a project was not feasible in the current economy and fortunately it was not necessary.
There was a large body of national research on readiness skills already available to form the basis of this reevaluation. The most important research was done as part of the 21st Century Skills project, Are They Really Ready to Work? This project reported on substantial research with employers.
Summary research can be provided to you by request.
“21st Century Skills” has provided some of the most important research.
CTE Resource Center

7. 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 Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service embodies the University of Virginia's commitment to serve the people of the Commonwealth. The Center’s mission is to anticipate and forecast change and to serve as a resource to those who need to recognize and address that change.
The Center traces its ancestry to the Bureau of Public Administration, created at the University in 1931.
Also, discuss CTECS role.
CTE Resource Center

8. Employers Want Schools to Teach WRS
Who Should Be Responsible for Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills?
You should know that the survey did not include “parents” as an option.
Source: Are They Really Ready for Work, 2006

9. The Process for Updating the WRS List

10. “Very Important Skills” for HS Graduates
Percent Ranking Skills as “Very Important” for High School Graduates
These charts show the percentage of employers who rated each applied and academic skill as “very important” for high school graduates entering the workforce.
Eight out of 11 applied skills were rated “very important” by more than 50% of employers. Only two of nine academic skills, “Reading” and “English Comprehension” were rated “very important” by more than 50%.
Source: Are They Really Ready for Work, 2006

11. Why Do Academic Skills Have Lower Ratings?
Because they are usually job specific.
Fewer employers rate each academic skill as “very important” because these skills are so often job specific.
Chemistry is crucial for some occupations, barely significant in others. Chinese translators need deep knowledge of that foreign language. The rest of us don’t need to know quite so much.

12. Most Applied Skills are Universally Needed
Integrity
Critical thinking
Work ethic
Time management
Workplace readiness skills are essential in almost every occupation. That’s why, in Virginia, we call them readiness skills.
You need them to be ready to work and grow in every occupational environment.
This is why the new curriculum revision tightly integrates teaching WRS into every CTE course.
All CTE graduates need to know and understand that employers will expect them to bring these skills to the workplace.
Conflict Resolution
Health & safety

13. Final WRS List Personal 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 Service
Technology Knowledge & Skills
Job-Specific Technologies
Information Technology
Internet Use & Security
Telecommunications
There are new skills in each grouping represented in lighter blue. But I have to say, as one of the key editors on this project,
The way we articulated these skills was dramatically different.
I have provided the more formal representation of this list in a handout (on the reverse of the project timeline). I’d also like to discuss these skills more in depth at the breakouts/workshop sessions.
One note about regional diversification—Virginia’s industries and cultures are very different from point to point, from the Appalachian mountains, to the Tidewater region, from the technology center of NOVA, to the rural and manufacturing region of Danville, Martinville, and Floyd County.
The skills we focused on are important to jobs regardless of region. The teachers have an ability to prioritize this list in ways they see fit.
CTE Resource Center

14. Chapter 2 The new list was completed…and then Virginia
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 became “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 message, June 1, 2010, for implementation

15. The New WRS Are Organic Example: Sustainability
Some definitions now illustrate how sustainability concepts can be included when preparing students for the workplace
—from integrity to healthy behaviors to technology use

16. Teaching the WRS
WRS
Technical tasks
Full course
The WRS can be infused throughout the course or taught as an instructional unit
Teachers may wish to cover the WRS in the first few weeks of school or as an instructional unit

17. Use WRS to Complement and Reinforce Technical Competencies
WRS resources provided within each course framework include
background information
instructional activities
lesson plans
Web sites.

18. Credential/Verified Credit
Revision
Instruction
Assessment
Credential/Verified Credit
Chapter 3

19. Timeline for the New Industry Credential for the New WRS
Virginia and CTECS worked to identify and develop test items, to conduct an assessment pilot, and to launch this stand-alone credential.
Sept 2010: Experts’ meeting to ID test items
March 2011: Pilot successfully completed; cut
score determined
April 2011: Full implementation of
assessment
Virginia-specific assessment that addresses all 21 skills
Was approved by the Board of Education in March 2011
Was developed by CTECS, the consortium that was a vital part of the research and development of the new 21 skills
Is less expensive than most industry certifications ($9.00 per test)
Successfully passing the exam will result in a stand-alone credential that may be used for verified credit (does not have to be combined with any other assessment as it was formerly).
To meet board criteria as a student-selected verified credit, the course must be one that is:
Taught by an educator with an industry certification or licensure from the certifying body
Designed to prepare students for an occupation or occupational area
Knowledge-based; however, the credential may contain a performance-based component
In a CTE field that confers a credential from a recognized industry, trade or professional association or entity
Administered on a multi-state or international basis
Standardized and graded independent of the school in which the test is given

20. Virginia WRS Assessment
The CTECS-Provided
Virginia WRS Assessment
This new assessment replaces other tests that were used in the past to assess WRS
Reasonable price ($9.00)
Now offering a pretest ($6.00)
Certificate of successful completion provided and can be used for verified graduation credit

21. Initial Statistics on the WRS Assessment
Began offering the assessment April 2011
100-item multiple-choice test
60-minute timed test
3,693 students tested initially
2,400 students passed (65% pass rate)
75% cut score

22. In Summary The New Workplace Readiness Skills for the Commonwealth
are well researched and up to date
are reflective of Virginia employer needs
are incorporated into all CTE courses
come with many teaching resources
are being assessed
are leading to an industry-acknowledged and respected credential and are earning student-selected verified credit.

23. Questions?
Peggy Watson
CTE Resource Center