| The
Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) was convened in 1990 to
examine the demands of the workplace and to determine whether the current and future
workforce is capable of meeting those demands. The Commission was directed to : (1) define
the skills needed for employment; (2) propose acceptable levels in those skills; (3)
suggest effective ways to assess proficiency; and (4) develop a strategy to disseminate
the findings to the nation’s schools, businesses, and homes. The Commission identified five COMPETENCIES (skills necessary for
workplace success) and three FOUNDATIONS (skills and qualities that underlie
competencies).
 |
Competencies: effective
workers can productively use:
| 1. |
Resources - allocating time, money,
materials, space, and staff. |
| 2. |
Interpersonal Skills - working on
teams, teaching others, serving customers, leading, negotiating, and working well with
people from culturally diverse backgrounds. |
| 3. |
Information - acquiring and evaluating
data, organizing and maintaining files, interpreting and communicating, and using
computers to process information. |
| 4. |
Systems - understanding social,
organizational, and technological systems, monitoring and correcting performance, and
designing or improving systems. |
| 5. |
Technology - selecting equipment and
tools, applying technology to specific tasks, and maintaining and trouble-shooting
technologies. |
|
|
Foundations: competence
requires:
| 1. |
Basic Skills - reading, writing,
arithmetic and mathematics, speaking, and listening. |
| 2. |
Thinking Skills - thinking creatively,
making decisions, solving problems, seeing things in the mind’s eye, knowing how to
learn, and reasoning. |
| 3. |
Personal Qualities - individual
responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self-management, and integrity. |
|
The Commission’s report specified what parents,
employers, and educators could do to ensure that students attained the skills necessary to
be successful.
Parents - Parents are encouraged to
display the SCANS skills prominently in their homes and discuss them often with their
children. Make sure they understand what is expected. Parents should also find out how
their children’s school is equipping their children with these skills. And parents
are encouraged to make sure the school superintendent and the school board are addressing
these skills.
Employers - Employers must orient their
business practices to hiring and developing this know-how in employees. In other words,
strive for a world class workforce. Employers are encouraged to invest in their employees
so they can obtain the skills needed to succeed in the new work environment. Also,
employers should tell educators clearly what is needed and work with them to accomplish
it. Employers should also make sure the school superintendent and the school board are
addressing these skills
Educators - Educators are responsible
for helping our children develop the skills they need. Educators are encouraged to explain
the standards to students and define what is expected of them. Educators should inject the
competencies and the foundations into every nook and cranny of the school curriculum.
For more information on SCANS Skills, check out SCANS/2000: The Workforce Skills Website. |
Washoe
Co. K-16 Council
