Five Competencies

The Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (1991) states that high school students must develop competencies in resources, interpersonal relations, information, systems, and technology in order to succeed in work and life:

"Resources: Identifies, organizes, plans, and allocates resources.

• Time--Selects goal-relevant activities, ranks them, allocates time, and prepares and follows schedules.

• Money--Uses or prepares budgets, makes forecasts, keeps records, and makes adjustments to meet objectives.

• Material and Facilities--Acquires, stores, allocates, and uses materials or space efficiently.

• Human Resources--Assesses skills and distributes work accordingly, evaluates performance and provides feedback.

Interpersonal: Works with others.

• Participates as Member of a Team--Contributes to group effort.

• Teaches Others New Skills.

• Serves Clients/Customers--Works to satisfy customers' expectations.

• Exercises Leadership--Communicates ideas to justify position, persuades and convinces others, responsibly challenges existing procedures and policies.

• Negotiates--Works toward agreements involving exchange of resources, and resolves divergent interests.

• Works with Diversity--Works well with men and women from diverse backgrounds.

Information: Acquires and uses information.

• Organizes and Maintains Information.

• Interprets and Communicates Information.

• Uses Computers to Process Information.

Systems: Understands complex interrelationships.

• Understands Systems--Knows how social, organizational, and technological systems work and operates effectively with them.

• Monitors and Corrects Performance--distinguishes trends, predicts impacts on system operations, diagnoses deviations in systems' performance, and corrects malfunctions.

• Improves or Designs Systems--Suggests modifications to existing systems and develops new or alternative systems to improve performance.

Technology: Works with a variety of technologies.

• Selects Technology--Chooses procedures, tools, or equipment, including computers and related technologies.

• Applies Technology to Task--Understands overall intent and proper procedures for setup and operation of equipment.

• Maintains and Troubleshoots Equipment--Prevents, identifies, or solves problems with equipment, including computers and other technologies." (p. xvii)

  References