Leesburg, Va. (September 25, 2019)
— SkillsUSA, a national partner of COABE and an innovator in educational resources for career and technical education (“CTE”) students, today announced the official launch of the
SkillsUSA Career Essentials Credential.
This new curriculum and credential program provides CTE students with the foundational skills, attitudes and values necessary to ensure that America has the skilled workforce it needs to combat the growing U.S. skills gap and to stay competitive on a global scale.
The
SkillsUSA Career Essentials Credential
is obtained through successful completion of the
SkillsUSA Career Essentials
suite
,
an employability skill-building curriculum. SkillsUSA based the curriculum on key career-readiness skills that were identified as most needed for new hires through
gathered data and scientific research
.
1
Successful completion of the program indicates students’ proficiency in the understanding and application of career readiness competencies as well as demonstrates their ability to successfully contribute to their place of work.
“The SkillsUSA Career Essentials Credential will ensure that students are career-ready and that they are prepared to be future company and community leaders,” explained Timothy W. Lawrence, executive director of SkillsUSA. “We applaud all of our partners for stepping forward to work together and support the SkillsUSA Career Essentials Credential, and we are confident that this certification program will be transformational for industries across the United States.”
The
SkillsUSA Career Essentials
Credential
is a significant, mission-critical project for SkillsUSA. It is backed by a large investment of over $1 million from corporate America as well as supported by the U.S. departments of Labor and Education, making it one of the one of the largest collaborative public-private partnerships in workforce development history. In its early phases, the
SkillsUSA
Career Essentials Credential
has already been validated by the following companies: 3M, Toyota U.S.A., Toyota Motor North America, U.S. Coast Guard, Volvo Construction Equipment, Alabama Community College System, National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), CareerSafe LLC, CBRE, Centuri, Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE), IAA, Kreg Tools, Magna International, National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER), North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and Spirit AeroSystems.
"The SkillsUSA Career Essentials Credential will play an integral role in developing the skilled workforce that our industry and our country needs,” said Rose Bauss, general manager for Toyota. “Toyota is proud to be one of the first supporters of the Career Essentials Credential, and we look forward to how it will reshape the future of the U.S. workforce.”
“Partnering on the SkillsUSA Career Essentials Credential has been an important milestone in our desire to work with leaders that are helping to feed the workforce pipeline through adult basic education and career and technical education,” said Sharon Bonney, chief executive officer for the Coalition on Adult Basic Education. “I applaud SkillsUSA for their vision for and incredible work developing such a critical component to workforce readiness, and we look forward to the impact this will have for employers and adult learners seeking employment.”
The
SkillsUSA Career Essentials
Credential
was announced during a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Sept. 25. Attendees included John P. Pallasch, assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (ETA), and Diane Auer Jones, principal deputy under secretary for the U.S. Department of Education,
as well as SkillsUSA business and education partners.
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