Workforce Readiness: Competencies and Assessment

Current economic difficulties and the challenge of competing in the world market have necessitated a rethinking of American approaches to the utilization of people in organizations. Management recognizes a need to have workers take on more responsibility at the points of production, of sale, and of service rendered, if the United States is to compete in rapidly changing world markets. This development means that much more is expected of even entry-level members of the American workforce. Thus, more is expected of high schools and colleges to provide this type of workforce. The need of American management for workers with greater skills and who can take on greater responsibility has spawned many commissions, task forces and studies. All of them have contributed to the vast evidence documenting the need for a more highly skilled workforce. These studies are summarized and synthesized in this book. However, what remains largely undone is the development of methods to assess the necessary skills that have been identified. A major portion of this book deals with assessment issues.
Workforce Readiness: Competencies and Assessment explores the state of the art in the specification of competencies (skills) and their assessment for students entering the world of work from both high school and college. Both individuals and team competencies are examined via data that has been reported and collected in various settings - schools, laboratories and industrial facilities.