| Examples
An Example task is one that is generally performed by most workers
in an occupational group. Each essential skill includes a list of examples
to illustrate the use of that skill. While the Examples are not a comprehensive
listing of the duties performed in that occupational group, they do provide
a picture of the nature and range of tasks performed. Some Examples use
the qualifier “may”. This indicates that the task does not
relate to all workers. For example, the statement “animal care workers
may read veterinary medicine reference books”, means that some,
but not all, animal care workers read these reference books. Some tasks
are followed by a modifier placed within brackets, indicating the frequency
of the task. For example, the modifier (daily) refers to a task performed
routinely, at least once a day. Other references are (weekly), (monthly),
(frequently), (occasionally) and (rarely). Modifiers of frequency are
only used when data showed a strong indication of frequency. Therefore,
not all tasks are modified in this way.
The Profile Section
There is, within the description of most essential skills, a profile section
designed to describe, in a standardized way, how the skill is used in
the occupational group. While the examples provide a picture of how the
skill is used within the occupational group, readers would not be able
to use this information for comparative purposes. The description provided
by the profile section is both more comprehensive and more easily comparable.
The use of standardized categories allows the reader to compare between
occupational groups or to aggregate information across occupational groups,
if desired. The following essential skills have a Profile Section within
their description: Reading, Document Use, Writing, Numeracy, Oral Communication,
Working with Others, Computer Use, and Continuous Learning.
Use of Symbols:
In Essential Skills Profiles that are based on interviews with workers,
symbols are used to indicate the proportion of interviews in which a particular
skill element was reported.
> > > indicates most of the interviews
> > indicates some of the interviews
> indicates few of the interviews
The symbols used do not refer to frequency of use, but rather to the
percentage of interviews in which an item was reported. That means, for
instance, that a task done rarely by everyone is scored low, while a task
done frequently by a specialized group is scored high. In Essential Skills
Profiles developed as part of an occupational standard, these symbols
are not used.
Other Information
The Essential Skills Profiles also contain descriptions of the physical
aspects of performing the job, the attitudes that workers feel are needed
to do the job well, and future trends affecting essential skills used
in that job. |