We all want our children to be successful in life. We hope to one day see them in satisfying careers with the promise of growth. The thought of seeing our children in dead-end jobs saddens us. We wonder, though, if there's anything we can do to help ensure that they are successful.
In 1990, then Secretary of Labor Lynn Martin, wondered the same thing and formed the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS). Martin asked the Commission, comprised of representatives from schools, government, unions, and corporate America, to examine the demands of the workplace and to determine whether American youth are capable of meeting those demands. After a year of talking to employers, supervisors, workers, and union officials, the Commission identified a set of competencies and foundation skills, known as SCANS skills, that everyone entering the workforce must have.
SCANS Skills
Following are the eight areas the Commission identified as being essential for both students who are going directly to work after high school and those who are going on to college. SCANS skills are made up of five competencies and three foundation skills. Competencies and foundation skills are intertwined -- They are used together and should be learned together.
The Five Competencies
- Resources
- allocates time
- allocates money
- allocates material and facility resources
- allocates human resources
Interpersonal
- participates as a member of a team
- teaches others
- serves clients/customers
- exercises leadership
- negotiates
- works with cultural diversity
Information
- acquires and evaluates information
- organizes and maintains information
- interprets and communicates information
- uses computers to process information.
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