DIRECTIVE	:	TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION NOTICE NO. 07-99
TO	:	ALL STATE JPTA LIAISONS ALL STATE WORKER ADJUSTMENT LIAISONS ALL STATE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY AGENCIES ALL ONE-STOP CAREER CENTER SYSTEM LEADS
FROM	:	DAVID HENSON Director Office of Regional Management
SUBJECT	:	Competencies for Workforce Development Professionals

1. Purpose. To transmit two tools for workforce development practitioners in One-Stop Centers to be used in professional development and skills enhancement to further the implementation of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

2. References. Training and Employment Information Notice No. 28-98, "Tools of the Trade: A Learning Resources Catalog for Workforce Professionals," dated May 21, 1999.

3. Background on One-Stop Skills Chart. The One-Stop Skills Chart (Attachment l) was created through a multi-State job task analysis effort that documented the skills and knowledge, duties and tasks, tools and equipment, and traits and attitudes needed to run a full-service, stand-alone One-Stop business. Developed by Mary Ann Lawrence of Professional Training Service, Inc., under contract with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), the One-Stop Skills Chart identifies 12 Functional Areas, each of which is a cluster of skills and knowledge. It was designed to be used by State and local One-Stop Centers as the basis for developing either organizational and individual training plans or curricula and training courses. A "Priority Worksheet" has also been developed for the purpose of conducting a needs assessment based on the One-Stop Skills Chart, and is available from ETA upon request.

   The 12 Functional Areas which comprise the One-Stop Skills Chart form the organizational framework around which currently existing training resources for workforce professionals are organized on the "Tools of the Trade" Speciality Data Base of America's Learning eXchange (ALX) at http://www.alx.org/wfd.html. They are defined on that website as One-Stop Skill Clusters, and the associated skills and knowledge statements appear as the One-Stop Competencies Matrix List. The site also includes instructions on how to read the matrix and action steps on how to use it.

4. Background on Customer Interactions and Skills in the One-Stop Environment. The document Customer Interactions and Skills in the One-Stop Environment (Attachment 2) was developed under the Workforce Development Staff Skills and Training Project through funds provided by the U.S. Employment Service and conducted jointly by ETA, Iowa Workforce Development and the Center for Employment Security Education and Research (CESER). This document is intended to provide One-Stop operators with a useful tool for identifying the key skill sets needed by front-line staff working directly with job seeker and employer customers.

   Customer Interactions and Skills in the One-Stop Environment may be accessed electronically on The Workforce ATM at http://www.icesa.org. It is also listed as a training resource on ALX's "Tools of the Trade" specialty database. As of July 1999, curricula and supporting training materials have been developed for five of the 12 customer interactions, and plans call for the development of curricula for all of the interactions over the next two years. These curricula materials in the form of an Instructor's Manual, Participants' Manual and PowerPoint™ Presentation may also be found on the Workforce ATM.

5. Relationship Between the Tools. Both the One-Stop Skills Chart and the Customer Interactions and Skills in the One-Stop Environment documents have as their ultimate objective the promotion of a skill-based approach to the development of workforce development staff. They each emerged from a comprehensive inventory of skills and knowledge required to successfully operate in a One-Stop Center.

   The primary differences between the two sets of skills are in their respective foci and in the ways in which the skills are organized. While the Customer Interactions and Skills are focused on front-line staff roles with respect to One-Stop customers, the One-Stop Skills Chart includes skills applicable to Center administrative, support and supervisory staff as well. While the Customer Interactions and Skills were organized around the competencies framework which emerged in 1991 from the work of the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (better known as SCANS), the One-Stop Skills Chart is organized around clusters which are applicable to specific functional areas of One-Stop operations.

   The close relationship between the two tools is illustrated in Attachment 3, a crosswalk between the Customer Interactions and the Functional Areas. The crosswalk was prepared to reveal the overall complementary nature of the two documents and the research that supports them, and is not in any way meant to invalidate the results in those few areas where there is no overlap.

   A more detailed crosswalk between the two documents has also been prepared by Mary Ann Lawrence. It shows which of the 12 Customer Interactions corresponds to each of the approximately 384 skill or knowledge statements in Attachment 1. That resource is also available to interested parties upon request. Officials with responsibilities for staff development may find it particularly useful. Its value would be enhanced by using Attachment 2 to determine which specific skill(s) associated with a particular Customer Interaction corresponds to a discrete skill or knowledge statement from the One-Stop Skills Chart.

6. Action. ETA encourages the use of these documents for identifying the competencies necessary for success in One-Stops and for establishing professional development plans for staff.

7. Inquiries. Requests for additional copies (bound and tabulated) of Attachment 2 may be addressed directly to Kate Cashen at (202) 434-8020 or kcashen@icesa.org. Requests for the supplementary documents described in Sections 3 and 5, and any questions may be addressed to Stephanie Cabell at (202) 219-8395, ext. 174 or scabell@doleta.gov, or William Goodwin at (202) 219-9092, ext. 131 or wgoodwin@doleta.gov.

8. Attachments. 

   1. One-Stop Skills Chart

   2. Customer Interactions and Skills in the One-Stop Environment

   3. One-Stop Skills Chart Cross-Referenced with Customer Interactions and Skills

   NOTE: Attachments 1 and 2 not available to DMS