Beyond Basic Employability

Elizabeth King

Wed., June 10, 5:00–7:00, Great Hall (4th floor, Central)

The Employability Skills Certificate Program has long been a staple of many high school career and technical education programs in Wisconsin. Administered through the school in conjunction with a local business, this work–based learning program was designed to provide students with experiences to develop the requisite skills necessary to be a successful worker. These skills, based on the United States Secretary of Labor’s seminal report, "Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS): What Work Requires of Schools" (1991), fall within four broad areas: basic skills (reading, writing, and math), personal and interpersonal skills (responsibility, work ethic, etc.), thinking and information processing skills (i.e., acquiring and utilizing information resources to solve problems), as well as systems thinking and technology skills (ability to understand the interrelationship of system components, and using, applying, and troubleshooting technology). Upon successful completion of a paid, business-based experience, the student is eligible to receive the employability skills certificate, thus credentialing the student as a responsible and productive candidate for employment.

This presentation will discuss case studies (Stake, 1995) of four participants involved in the Pop.Cosmo Online Gaming Lab after–school program (Steinkuehler & King, 2009) and suggest that their involvement in the program, coupled with their experiences playing World of Warcraft, has afforded them the opportunity to develop the types of skills involved in the Employability Skills Certificate Program. Although this is exciting, the employability skills certificate has limitations, primarily in that it is based on a traditional view of workplace roles in a hierarchical employee-employer relationship. In the recent past, these types of skills have been associated with low–wage service or factory type jobs, although this, too, is changing in light of movements toward "fast capitalism" (Gee, Hull, & Lankshear, 1996) whereas more responsibility and self–directness is being required from even the lowest wage earners.

Shifting demands of the global workplace have spurred a focus on 21st Century Skills Framework (Karoly, 2007), an initiative encouraging educators to provide opportunities for students to develop the knowledge and skills necessary for success in both 21st century communities and in workplaces. According to the Partnership for 21st Century Learning Skills (2002), the knowledge and skills students need to obtain fall within four broad areas: "learning and innovation skills (creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, etc.); information, media and technology skills; core subject knowledge; and 21st century themes (global awareness, financial literacy, etc.), as well as life and career skills (soft skills, initiative, self-direction, etc.)." These are the higher–level skills that will equip our students to succeed beyond entry level, subsistence employment and thrive in the modern workplace. During the second part of this presentation, evidence will be presented depicting areas where students involved in the after–school project have progressed further than the basic competencies outlined in the Skills Certificate Program and are gravitating toward the more cutting-edge skills and habits of mind embodied in this emerging framework. Concluding remarks will include suggestions for future trajectories based on current trends.

References

Gee, J.P., Hull, G., & Lankshear, C. (1996). The new work order: Behind the language of the new capitalism. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Karoly, L.A. (2007). Forces shaping the future U.S. workforce and workplace: Implications for 21st century work: Testimony presented before the House Education and Labor Committee, available online at http://www.rand.org/pubs/testimonies/2007/RAND_CT273.pdf

Partnership for 21st century learning skills. (2002). Framework for 21st century learning. Retrieved January 26, 2009, from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php

Stake, R.E. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

Steinkuehler, C. & King, E. (2009). Digital literacies for the disengaged: Creating after school contexts to support boys’ game-based literacy skills. On The Horizon, 17(1)

What work requires of schools. (1991). SCANS report for America 2000 from the Secretary's commission on achieving necessary skills. Publication of the U.S. Department of Labor, available online at http://wdr.doleta.gov/SCANS/.