The SCANS Skills and Competencies Checklist: An Assessment Tool for Youth Work Readiness Programs

The SCANS Report for America, 2000 (1992) identified the skills youth need to compete in the workplace. The not-for-profit sector responded by implementing programs designed to give at-risk youth opportunities to learn the skills and competencies required to be work ready. Program evaluators, howeve...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lydia B. Blalock, Linda Strieter, Luanne Hughes
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Clemson University Press 2006-06-01
Series:Journal of Youth Development
Online Access:http://jyd.pitt.edu/ojs/jyd/article/view/403
Description
Summary:The SCANS Report for America, 2000 (1992) identified the skills youth need to compete in the workplace. The not-for-profit sector responded by implementing programs designed to give at-risk youth opportunities to learn the skills and competencies required to be work ready. Program evaluators, however, are challenged with the need to assess behavioral changes, which at best are difficult to document. In addition, at-risk youth often do not perform well with traditional paper and pencil assessments (for a variety of reasons). Improvements in SCANS attributes must be captured while the youth are engaged in learning and practicing the desired skills and behaviors. The SCANS Skills & Competencies Checklist, developed by evaluators of the RCRE Youth Farmstand Program, is a tool that can be customized easily for use with youth work readiness programs that include an experiential learning component.
ISSN:2325-4017