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Volume 4,
No.2 |
Illinois
at the Vanguard of Occupational Skill Standards Development At a recent economic symposium on the Midwest economy, much of the discussion centered on how to sustain the soft yet steady growth experience of the past few years in this region. One of the key components many employers insisted be a part of the solution was a stronger focus on worker skill issues, especially in those occupations requiring less than a four-year college degree. What’s the best way to
find out which skills are needed for tomorrow’s high-skill workforce?
To address this question, Congress and the President established the National
Skill Standards Board (NSSB)—an independent, voluntary group of 27
business, labor, education, and civic leaders—whose primary purpose
is to enable discussion among those who know best what skills are needed:
employers, workers, and educators in each state.
By forming voluntary partnerships
and developing a common language essential to communication, these leaders
are creating standards for broad groupings of occupations and industries.
The goal is to define a common set of skills for groups of jobs, even
if they cross lines between occupations and industries. Workers who meet
these standards are then certified. In addition to codifying standards
to insure excellent job knowledge and performance, the NSSB aims to “.
. .enhance the portability and transferability of people’s field-specific
skills” and to prepare workers for a work environment which will
require adaptability, flexibility, teamwork, and individual problem-solving.
ILLINOIS RECEIVES
NSSB AWARD
To achieve this vision, the IOSSCC, its
Industry Subcouncils and state workforce development and education agencies
will provide leadership in the marketing of this system to both the private
sector for use in hiring, training, and promotion and to the education
sector for incorporation into training programs and curricula at all levels.
As of this time, occupational skill standards have been endorsed in the following occupational clusters:
Unlike other state systems based on inexact key word searches which fail to provide accurate matches of job seekers’ and employers’ skill requirements, SBJMS standardizes all criteria within the system. Employers and job applicants simply select from these criteria to find a true match. As IDES builds the database necessary for
its Skills-Based Job Matching System, skill sets from the products listed
above and those under development (see table, column 2) are being incorporated.
Other workforce development and education agencies such as the Illinois
State Board of Education, Illinois Community College Board, Illinois Department
of Commerce and Community Affairs, and Illinois Board of Higher Education
have been conducting pilot projects examining all aspects of the standards
and credentialing system, beginning the process of integrating skill sets
in curricula, and restructuring evaluation measures to include the embodiment
of skill standards. |
Mitch Dewey Daniels recently joined the Economic Information and Analysis Division as a Labor Market Economist in the Springfield area. Prior to joining the Illinois Department of Employment Security, he worked for many years as the Research Coordinator of the Illinois Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (IOICC). Mitch has a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois at Springfield.