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| Sondra G. Stein Program Manager sstein@uschamber.com |
|
| Home | |
| EFF Portal | |
Equipped for the Future at the Center for Literacy Studies 600 Henley St, Suite 312 Knoxville, TN 37996-4135 (865) 974-8426 fax: (865) 974-3857 |
| Skills Gap |
The Need for a Work Readiness Credential
Despite a dramatic increase in work readiness and training programs, employers continue to report difficulty in finding skilled workers.
- The 1999 American Management Association report Workplace Testing: Basic Skills, Job Skills, Psychological Management found that "more than a third of job applicants nationwide lack the basic math and reading skills to do the jobs they are seeking".
- The 1999 Conference Board report Turning Skills into Profit: Economic Benefits of Workplace Education Programs found that "throughout the U.S., private-and public-sector companies are facing the problem of a workforce severely lacking in workplace basic skills."
- In The Skills Gap 2001, a survey conducted by the National Manufacturers Association, more than 80% of employers reported a shortage of qualified job candidates.
Source: The Skills Gap 2001
A nationally portable credential can help bridge this gap.
The EFF Work Readiness Credential is based on a nationally validated profile of what entry-level workers need to be able to do. For additional information, see the EFF Work Readiness Profile.
- Hundreds of front line supervisors from a wide range of industry sectors helped us make sure the profile reflected their needs.
- Stakeholders from all across the workforce system have helped validate this profile.
This credential measures the skills that employers are seeking, including a variety of communication, decision-making, interpersonal, and lifelong learning skills.
- Employers can count on the credential to identify a pool of qualified candidates for entry level jobs.
- Job seekers can rely upon the credential to demonstrate that they have the knowledge and skills required for success in entry-level jobs.
Equipped for the Future Standards
The EFF WRC builds on NIFL's nationally validated Equipped for the Future adult learning standards.- EFF standards define the knowledge and skills adults need to be able to use to be effective as parents, citizens, and workers in the 21st Century.
- In the 2003 report Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma That Counts, Achieve reports, "The academic standards states have developed over the past decade generally reflect a consensus among experts in each discipline about what is desirable for students to learn, but not necessarily what is essential for them to be prepared for further learning, work or citizenship after completing high school." The EFF standards represent the next generation of performance-based learning standards.
- These standards cover the knowledge and skills adults need to be successful in the workforce today. For additional information on the EFF standards, see Equipped for the Future: 21st Century Skills for the New Economy and Advantages of Basing a Work Readiness Credential on EFF.
