School Counselors' Perceptions of Required Workplace Skills and Career Development Competencies.

Abstract

Since the middle of the 20th century, America's business economy has changed from one that was manufacturing based to one that is service and technology oriented. As a result, the skills needed to be successful in the workplace have changed dramatically. Today's high performance workplace, as described by White (1994), is composed of extraordinarily capable people, working in teams, equipped with proper technology, focused on satisfying the customer and improving work processes (p. 162). U.S. businesses have become increasingly concerned that the skills training provided to high school students has not kept up with workplace changes (Bailey, 1997; Haworth, 1998; Jenkins, 1987; Splete, 1992; Stem, Raby, & Dayton, 1992). Inadequate skills development at the secondary level has contributed to a gap between the skills possessed by U.S. workers and those needed in the labor force. This skills gap represents, perhaps, the biggest challenge facing businesses today-the inability to find qualified and capable workers (Danzig, 1996). In the past decade, the federal government has become more involved in addressing workforce issues by developing two major federal policy guidelines that describe the specific skills and career development competencies required for workers to be competitive in today's labor market. These workforce preparation documents are (a) What Work Requires of Schools (Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills [SCANS],1991), better known as the SCANS Report, and (b) the National Career Development Guidelines (National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee [NOICC], 1989), hereafter referred to as the Guidelines. The information in these documents is especially valuable for high school students. During high school, students must acquire and develop the functional skills needed for career development (Magnum, 1996; Noeth, Engen, & Noeth, 1984). If high school students are to ultimately be successful in a career field of their choice, they must acquire the appropriate knowledge and competencies dictated by the changing needs of the workplace (Hitchner & Hitchner, 1996). Yet, research has shown that many high school counselors and administrators are unfamiliar with both the SCANS Report and the Guidelines (Block, 1996). One of the primary responsibilities of high school counselors is to provide students with the information and guidance necessary to make well-informed career choices (Block, 1996; Jenkins, 1987). The success that students have in career decision making is directly related to accurately assessing their skills, abilities, and interests, and then relating these to the needs of the workplace (Barker & Kellen, 1998). A lack of familiarity with workplace skills and career development competencies requirements can result in high school students finding themselves poorly prepared to enter the job market (Jones, 1996; Perry, 1995). Rather than being responsive to current workplace skill requirements, teaching and guidance practices in U.S. schools tend to follow a conventional approach (Bailey, 1997; Perry, 1995). This conventional model parallels characteristics of the older manufacturing-based, mass-production economy in this country and reflects little of today's higher skill, information-based workplace (Bailey, 1997). The traditional approach to career guidance, which typically involves referring students to the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (U. S. Department of Labor, 1995) and the Occupational Outlook Handbook (U. S. Department of Labor, 1997), does not provide students with adequate information to make well-reasoned career choices. A more appropriate method could be to develop and implement a career-planning and development model that incorporates the principles of the SCANS Report and the National Career Development Guidelines. Hence, students would be introduced to the skills and competencies they will need in today's workplace. …