Essential Skills and the Ontario Skills Passport in Action!

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Essential Skills and the Ontario Skills
Passport in Action!

• Chantal Locatelli and Jodie Wells
• CESBA Conference
• December 6, 2007

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Human Resources and Social Development Canadas
Essential Skills Research

• Reading Text
• Document Use
• Writing
• Numeracy
• Oral Communication
• Thinking Skills
• Working With Others
• Computer Use
• Continuous Learning

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Why These Skills Are Essential

• Enable people to perform tasks required by their
  jobs as well as adapt to change.
• Generic skills used in virtually all occupations
  and throughout daily life in different forms and
  at different levels of complexity.
• They are transferable from school to work, job to
  job and sector to sector.
• They provide the foundation for learning other
  skills, such as technical skills and
  job/workplace specific skills.

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Workforce Skills

• Combination of
• JW (Job-Workplace Specific Skills)
• - employer and position specific
• TS (Technical Skills)
• occupation specific
• ES (Essential Skills)
• foundational
• transferable

JW
T S
E S
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Complexity Rating Scale

• The Complexity Rating Scale indicates the level
  of complexity involved in the use of a skill in a
  particular task.
• The least complex tasks are classified at level
  1 the most complex tasks are classified at level
  5 or at level 4 if there are only 4 levels for a
  skill.
• Skill levels are associated with workplace tasks
  and not the worker performing these tasks.

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Essential Skills Profiles

• Essential Skills Profiles describe how each skill
  is used in an occupation.
• Researchers asked workers
• - What do you do in your job?
• - Why do you do it?
• - How do you do it?
• - What resources and materials do you use?
• 269 profiles and others are under development.

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Components of an Essential Skills Profile

• Brief description of the occupation
• List of the most important Essential Skills
• Typical tasks grouped by skill and skill level
• Physical aspects of performing the job and the
  attitudes that workers feel are needed to do the
  job well
• Future trends affecting Essential Skill
  requirements for the occupation
• Links to sites with information on this
  occupation, such as the National Occupational
  Classification Matrix (NOC) and Job Futures

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National Occupational Classification Matrix (NOC)

• The profiles align with the NOC a national
  standard.
• Occupations are grouped in the NOC by type of
  education required.
• C D level occupations require a high school
  education or less.
• B level occupations require a college education
  or apprenticeship training (e.g. Red Seal
  trades).
• A level occupations require university education.
• 0 level are managerial level occupations

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Essential Skills Research Website

• Information on the Essential Skills Research,
  including the Essential Skills Profiles, are
  available at http//srv108.services.gc.ca/english
  /general/home_e.shtml
• Copies of the National Occupational
  Classification Matrix (NOC) that describes
  occupations in Canada by educational level and
  occupational grouping are available at a minimum
  cost from HRSDC at 1-800-635-7943 or
  http//www23.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca

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Essential Skills Matter to Workers, Employers and
Governments

• The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS)
  (1994) and the Adult Literacy and Life Skills
  Survey (2004) noted that 40 of Canadian
  working-age adults have low essential skills
  levels (levels 1 2) while most Canadian
  occupations require level 3 and higher.
• The Prime Ministers Expert Panel on Skills
  (2000) concluded that the Canadian workforce
  typically had the necessary technical skills, but
  had critical gaps in its essential skills.
• Statistics Canada correlates increased Essential
  Skills capacity with higher earnings, stronger
  labour force attachment and better health among
  individuals.

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Conference Board of Canadas Case Studies on Hard
and Soft Returns on Essential Skills Investments

• Organizations reported
• Safer workplace fewer accidents
• Higher productivity and more efficiencies
• Lower turnover and absenteeism rates
• Improved performance appraisal processes
• Individuals, Teams, Organizations and Family
  Community Benefits
• Increase in self-confidence, initiative,
  communication, teamwork
• More open to change and lifelong learning
  attitude
• Better able to make decisions and to recognize
  and solve problems
• Increase in volunteerism and ability to help
  children with homework
• Enjoy improved health
• HRSDC publication HIP-028-03-05E

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The Skills Challenge

• We must help learners and job seekers see
  themselves as knowledge workers with skills
  that they can develop in school and training
  programs and transfer to the workplace.They must
  understand that they will have to continue to
  develop their skills to keep their jobs and
  progress in the workplace.

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The Ontario Skills Passport Opportunity

• Bilingual FREE web-based tool
• Provides clear descriptions of Essential Skills
  and important work habits
• Provides a consistent method for employers to
  assess and record skills and work habits
• Offers applications, resources and assessment
  tools to support its use in a variety of
  educational and training contexts
• http//skills.edu.gov.on.ca

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Relevance Engages Learners!

• The need to find meaning is a strong
  motivational force in life of each of us. If
  teachers can consistently help students connect
  subject matter content with the context of
  application, I believe that we may be astonished
  at the significant increase in learning.
• - Dale Parnell, Cerebral Context, AVA 1996

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Learn about the Essential Skills and work habits
and see how people use them in work, learning and
life. (under development)
Access the OSP brochure and postcards, and
resources, designed for use in a wide range of
educational and training contexts.
See how workers use Essential Skills on the job.
Essential Skills and Work Habits
Occupations and Tasks
http//skills.edu.gov.on.ca
OSP Resources
Use this practitioner intake, referral, and
planning tool to focus on Essential Skills and
work habits. (under development)
Search sample tasks for Essential Skills and work
habits in work, learning and life.
Search the Database
Check-In Tool
Create a Work Plan
Check-Up Tools
Create a Transition Plan
Employer Tools
Create an OSP Work Plan that focuses on the
Essential Skills, job tasks and work habits
related to your work placement. Employers record
your progress in this work plan.
Create an OSP Transition Plan to transfer your
Essential Skills and work habits to a job or
further education or training. Access local
education, training and employment-related
information at http//www.iwin.on.ca/

• Create a Job Ad/Description
• Develop an Interview Checklist
• Give feedback on job performance and skills
  development

Assess, practice and build your Essential Skills
and work habits. (under development)
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The OSP Supports Life-long Skills Development

• Use the OSP to
• Learn about the Essential Skills and work habits
  important for success in work, learning and life
• See how workers use Essential Skills on the job
• Understand that these skills transfer from school
  to work, job to job and sector to sector
• Strengthen learning-work connections
• Identify the Essential Skills and work habits an
  individual possesses and those that they would
  like and/or need to develop
• Self-assess, practice and develop Essential
  Skills and work habits
• Document demonstration of Essential Skills and
  work habits and plan next steps, including
  preparing skills-based résumés, preparing for
  interviews and planning further skills
  development
• Support successful transitions to work or further
  education or training and on-going skills
  development.

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Essential Skills in the OSP

• Reading Text
• Writing
• Document Use
• Computer Use
• Oral Communication
• Numeracy
• - Money Math
• - Scheduling or Budgeting and Accounting
• - Measurement and Calculation
• - Data Analysis
• - Numerical Estimation
• Thinking Skills
• - Job Task Planning and Organizing
• - Decision Making
• - Problem Solving
• - Finding Information

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Essential Skills HRSDC and the OSP

• The OSP lists the 5 numeracy-related skills
  separately. This allows for a more precise
  identification and development of a persons
  mathematical literacy and its application in the
  workplace.
• The OSP only includes the Essential Skills that
  have a validated complexity rating scale and
  occupation-specific workplace tasks for the
  different skill levels. This allows for a
  consistent method of assessing these skills and
  planning/tracking skill development over time.
  Currently, Continuous Learning is not included in
  the OSP.
• The OSP lists the following "Thinking Skills
  separately Job Task Planning and Organizing,
  Decision Making, Problem Solving and Finding
  Information. Currently, Critical Thinking and
  Significant Use of Memory are not included.
• The OSP includes work habits important for
  success in the workplace and provides performance
  indicators for each one. Currently, Working with
  Others is not included in the OSP, however,
  teamwork is one of the work habits.

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Work Habits in the OSP

• The OSP includes the following work habits
  considered important for success work, learning
  and life
• working safely
• teamwork
• reliability
• organization
• working independently
• initiative
• self-advocacy
• customer service
• entrepreneurship
• Note There are no complexity levels associated
  with work habits in the OSP.

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The OSP Database

• Searchable and interactive database of more than
  16,000 workplace tasks, classified by skill,
  skill level and occupation
• Tasks come from Essential Skills Profiles and
  will increase over time as more profiles are
  published
• Key applications are Search the OSP Database,
  Create a Work Plan, Create a Transition Plan and
  Create a Job Ad or Job Description.

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Search the OSP DatabaseMake Learning Real!

• Search the OSP Database application generates a
  list of tasks by skill and skill level(s) for one
  or more occupations.
• This information can enhance classroom relevancy
  and strengthen school-work connections.
• All teachers/trainers/literacy practitioners can
  use this feature of the OSP to engage learners.

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Create an OSP Work PlanQuick, Easy, Valuable!

• OSP Work Plan lists tasks by skill skill level
  that a learner/job seeker will have an
  opportunity to perform in workplace.
• The Standard OSP Work Plan lists the tasks for
  the most important essential skills for the
  occupation.
• Customize OSP Work Plan to make it appropriate
  and meaningful to the learner/job seeker and
  relevant to the workplace by
• - deleting tasks the learner/job seeker will not
  have a chance to perform
• - adding tasks and skills the learner/job seeker
  wants to perform and practice
• - adding to Other Tasks section, tasks
  identified by employer or tasks from the
  Essential Skills Profiles not in the OSP
  database.
• Only the employer records in, and signs, the OSP
  Work Plan.

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OSP and Work Placements (including co-operative
education) and Other Forms of Experiential
Learning

• Ways that teachers, trainers and literacy
  practitioners can use the OSP
• Pre-placement reality check
• Identify suitable workplace tasks for the
  placement
• Inform the development of the PPLP or training
  plan
• As part of a rich task to assess and evaluate
  learner performance

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Create an OSP Transition Plan and transfer your
skills to a job!

• Steps to creating an OSP Transition Plan
• 1 Choose a job ad or an occupation
• 2. Decode the job ad or occupational description
  and learn more about the job requirements
  
  
• 3 Connect your own experiences with the job
• 4 Plan next steps identify useful
  course/training prepare a skills-focused
  résumé/cover letter prepare for an interview.

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Job Connect Program

• Information and Resource Service (IRS)
• Employment Planning and Preparation (EPP)
• Job Development and Placement Support (JDPS)

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Literacy and Basic Skills Program

• OSP provides a valuable tool for LBS instructors
  and learners preparing for the direct to work
  transition pathway by providing
• Information on expectations of a particular
  occupation (friendly NOC search for both career
  search and exploration and curriculum
  development)
• Opportunity for learner and practitioner to work
  together and create an OSP Work Plan that can
  serve as a training plan as well as an authentic
  computer based experience
• Additional information on work habits, and, if
  appropriate, identifying related services or
  supports that can be embedded in learners
  program
• An understanding of the transferability of ES
  and the value of preparing skills-based résumés
  and covering letters, as well as preparing for
  interviews
• A self-assessment check-list to demonstrate
  transition readiness
• A record of ES and work habits demonstrated by
  learners who have a job placement opportunity.

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Curriculum Documents

• The OSP and Essential Skills are referenced in
  all revised Ontario curriculum documents to
• Strengthen school-work connections by connecting
  curriculum expectations and the workplace
• Enhance workplace relevancy in the classroom by
  referring to workplace tasks and using authentic
  workplace materials
• To support career education and exploration
• To engage learners

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Guidance and Career Education Courses

• Two Courses
• Discovering the Workplace (GLD2O) Gr. 10
• Navigating the Workplace (GLN4O) Gr. 12
• Explicitly include Essential Skills in their
  curriculum expectations and make use of the
  Ontario Skills Passport.
• Incorporate a broad range of experiential
  learning opportunities which are intended to meet
  the needs of students who are at various stages
  of readiness for work.
• May be taken prior to or concurrent with
  cooperative education credits to provide an
  extended experiential learning opportunity in the
  workplace.

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SPECIALIST HIGH SKILLS MAJORS NEW

• A ministry-approved specialized program
• Allows students to focus on the knowledge and
  skills (including Essential Skills and work
  habits) that are of particular importance in
  certain economic areas, and to obtain
  certifications recognized in those sectors, as
  they work towards meeting the requirements for an
  Ontario Secondary School Diploma.
• Students who graduate with a SHSM designation on
  their diploma are prepared for success in a
  particular sector and in the post-secondary
  destination of their choice, whether it be
  apprenticeship training, a college or university
  program, or the workplace.
• Sectors in 2007-08 Arts and Culture, Business,
  Construction, Environment, Health and Wellness,
  Hospitality and Tourism, Manufacturing,
  Transportation and Primary Industries
  Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture and
  Landscaping, Mining
• Each SHSM has a Ministry-approved framework that
  consists of
• 8-10 credits
• sector-recognized certifications and training
• workplace experience through experiential
  learning
• the Ontario Skills Passport to explore
  occupations, learn about Essential
• Skills and work habits, create Work Plans in
  which employers record their demonstration of
  skills and work habits, and prepare for next
  steps (e.g. conduct job searches, create résumés
  and prepare for interviews) and
• reach ahead experiences in a selected
  postsecondary destination. These experiences
  enable Grade 11 and 12 students to gain
  confidence in their ability to be successful,
  refine skills and work habits, and make informed
  choice about future careers and next steps.
• OSP is a mandatory component of all SHSMs !

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NEW OSP Promotional Materials

• OSP Brochure How to find GREAT workers for your
  business easy-to-understand descriptions of the
  tasks involved in the job make work placements be
  more productive
• OSP Learner/Job Seekers Card How to wow
  employers and get the job you want!
• OSP Employer Card Now theres a better way to
  interview, evaluate and train your workers
• Available in English and French
• FREE order on line at http//skills.edu.gov.on.ca

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OSP Employer Tools - NEW

• Employer Tools
• Create a job ad/description that focuses on key
  Essential Skills and work habits for the job
• Develop an interview checklist that targets these
  skills and work habits
• Give constructive feedback on job performance and
  skills development
• Expected November 2007
• By using the same job language, employers and job
  seekers can quickly decide if a job is the right
  fit

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Under Development ES WH in Everyday Life
Resource

• Essential Skills and Work Habits in Everyday Life
• Scenarios that depict Essential Skills and work
  habits in everyday life
• Audio and video components
• Expected winter 2008

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Under Development ES WH Check-In Tool

• Essential Skills Work Habits Check-In Tool
• An intake, referral and planning tool for
  practitioners
• Being piloted in Adult Ed Common Assessment Pilot
  Project
• Expected winter 2008.

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Under Development ES WH Check-UP Tools

• Learner Essential Skills and Work Habits Check-Up
  Tool
• Guides learners and job seekers through a
  self-assessment for each of the ES and work
  habits listed in the OSP. User receives a score
  card with personal results which can also be
  compared to skill sets of experienced workers in
  occupation(s) of interest.
• Facilitated Essential Skills Check-Up Tool
• Provide learners and job seekers with the
  opportunity to practice, build and demonstrate
  their ES (Levels 1-3) through completing tasks
  used in selected occupations at the C, D and B
  levels of the NOC. Requires teacher/facilitator
  involvement reliable indicator of ES competency.
  Facilitator guides for use by secondary school
  teachers, literacy practitioners, Job Connect
  employment counsellors and job developers,
  Apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship trainers.
• Expected winter 2008

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OSP Web Development Advisory Committee

• Suggestions and feedback on applications and
  resources to support use of OSP.
• Participating organizations
• Alpha Plus
• Association des conseillères et des conseillers
  en orientation franco-ontariens
• Canadian Language Benchmarks
• Collaborative of Adult Employment Centres of
  Ontario
• Community Living
• Ontario Association of Adult and Continuing
  Education
• Job Connect College Sector
• Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario
• Metis Nation of Ontario
• Ontario Association of Help Centres
• Ontario Association of Youth Employment Centres
• Ontario Business Education Partnership
• Ontario Co-operative Education Association
• Ontario Council of Technical Education
• Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres
• Ontario School Counselors Association
• Ontario WorkInfoNet

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OSP Resources Developed by teachers and
trainers
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Sample OSP Resources

• Resources developed by teachers/trainers
• Click on the OSP Toolbox and follow the OSP
  Resources links
• Specialist High Skills Majors NEW
• Icons (copypaste), Bingo Cards, Posters
• Transfer Your Skills Activity
• Concert Inc. Activity
• Cooperative Education Program
• Job Connect Programs
• Gr. 7-8 English, Math, Science
• Gr. 9 Math

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Ontario Skills Passport Helps BuildCompetence,
Confidence and Connections!

• Learners and job seekers can use the OSP
• to learn about the Essential Skills and work
  habits important for success in the workplace
• to identify the Essential Skills and work habits
  they already have, to develop them further and to
  acquire new ones
• to transfer them to a job or to further education
  and training.
• Teachers, trainers and literacy practitioners can
  use the OSP
• to enhance classroom relevancy
• to strengthen school-work connections
• to engage learners and
• to help them build their Essential Skills and
  work habits.
• Employers can use the OSP
• to assess and record an individuals
  demonstration of Essential Skills and work
  habits and
• in their recruitment and training practices.
• We finally have a common language that helps
• connect people and supports successful
  transitions
• LETS USE IT!!!

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Thank you!

• For more information, contact
• Chantal Locatelli
• Senior Policy Adviser
• Ministry of Education
• 900 Bay St., 4th Floor Mowat Block
• Toronto, Ontario
• M7A 1L2
• Tel [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• chantal.locatelli_at_ontario.ca