Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 28 - EDUCATION › Part LXIX - Bulletin 107-Health Occupations Content Standards Curriculum Framework › Chapter 1 - General › Section LXIX-109 - The Role of Skill Standards in Education and Workforce Preparation

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. In the face of a
				thriving global economy, expectations for workforce preparation have shifted
				over the past decade. At least two factors are influencing the shift. The first
				is that today's complex workplace demands workers who are more flexible and
				more highly skilled than ever before. The second is a fear that the U.S. may be
				losing its competitive edge to nations that are more successful in training
				their workforce to meet high-level standards.
B. Concerns over workforce preparation have
				been echoed by worries about educational achievement. An alarm bell sounded in
				the 1980's when the U.S. Department of Education report,
A Nation at
				Risk,
alerted the country to the need to upgrade academic achievement
				levels and set a broad program for doing so. The response to this and other
				critical documents was a new national reform effort represented by several
				reports and pieces of legislation, such as
America 2000: An Education
				Strategy
(which set goals for students to acquire "world class"
				academic and career preparation skills as a means of enhancing national
				economic well-being) and the
Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied
				Technology Education Act of 1990
(which initiated federal efforts to
				reshape vocational education). Another closely related reform initiative is
				represented by the U.S. Department of Labor's 1991 report from its
Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills
(SCANS).
				The SCANS report expressed concerns that American students lack basic academic
				skills, knowledge about the work world, and the ability to adjust to a changing
				environment. The report set forth standards deemed necessary for success in a
				high performance workplace: i.e., the modern workplace characterized by
				teamwork and a goal orientation. SCANS laid much of the groundwork for a
				national movement promoting the use of voluntary skill standards. The standards
				developed by the National Health Care Skills Standards Project overlap with
				SCANS, but they are specific to the health services industry (Table
				1).
C. Concern about the
				effectiveness of schools in preparing students for the workplace led to
				increasing calls for greater accountability. In turn, this concern also led to
				an emphasis on the development of skill standards, which have become the focus
				of numerous national and state initiatives. For example, the
Goals
				2000: Educate America Act
called for states to develop challenging
				standards systems. It further established a National Skills Board to oversee
				the development and use of national skill standards. In summary, well
				articulated skill standards are key to the national strategy to upgrade worker
				skills and increase American economic competitiveness. With the utilization of
				skill standards, educators and industry can work together
to
produce work-ready, entry-level employees whose efficiency, productivity, and
				flexibility will compete favorably in the global market.
D. Table1. Summary of SCANS Employability
				Skills and the National Health Care Core Skill Standards SCANS Foundation
				Skills SCANS Competencies: Ability to Use.
Health Care Core Standards
Basic Skills
Thinking Skills
Personal Qualities
Resources
Inter-Personal Skills
Information
Systems
Technology
Academic
Foundation
*
*
*
*
Communication
*
*
*
*
*
Systems
*
*
*
*
Employability
Skills
*
*
*
*
*
Legal
Responsibilities
*
*
*
*
Ethics
*
*
*
*
*
*
Safety Practices
*
*
*
*
*
Teamwork
*
*
*
*
*
*
*Indicates areas where NHCSSP core standards overlap with
				  SCANS, but are specific to the health services industry.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
				  Promulgated in accordance with R.S.6(A)(10) and
				  R.S.
				  17:10.