Using The Essential Skills Profiles

The Profiles may be useful to an employer because they:

• allow employers to target actual skills when they hire for a job (rather than depending on general academic credentials)
• enable employers to see the scope of an occupation (beyond the technical skill requirements)
• encourage employers to examine document use and procedures to see if they are unnecessarily complex for what is required
• give the employer an idea what should be included in training courses
• can help structure interview questions
• make performance reviews more realistic by acknowledging the scope of the job
• show the employer how much a workforce will be affected by new technology or processes
• enable an employer to see how work responsibilities and tasks could be more efficiently organized
• allow employers to see unexpected skill-sets and to better understand which occupations have skill-set overlaps
• provide employers with some clues as to why one kind of error is being made often (if this, in fact, is happening) or if there are problems with communication
• give employers an idea of what the skill differences are between entry level jobs and jobs further along the progression ladder

The Profiles may be useful to a trainer because they:

• allow trainers to contextualize training sessions (to use relevant examples and exercises)
• enable trainers to identify job aids for workers
• familiarize trainers with the kinds of documents that must be completed everyday at work
• introduce trainers to the vocabulary of the workplace
• give trainers an idea of the complexity levels of the skills used in the workplace (allows trainers to use training time more effectively by incorporating activities aimed at the actual level of difficulty workers are expected to address “on the floor”)
• provide trainers with a list of workplace-specific materials that the trainer may have to study in advance before delivering training (e.g.) MSD Sheets, schematics, etc.
• provider trainers with a list of training aids that can be developed for learners (e.g.) sample letters and memos, resume guides, conversion tables, etc.
• enable trainers to see if some skills seem to be particularly important (and should be addressed in more detail)
• allow trainers to see which skills are shared by more than one occupational group (makes training scheduling more efficient)
• give trainers an idea of what incremental skills must be targeted to move an employee from an entry-level position to one demanding more skills

The Essential Skills Profiles have many other potential uses. They could be used, for example, by:

• work experience placement officers to determine an appropriate co-op placement for a student.
• parents, mentors and advisors to help students plan for their future.
• learners who wish to have a better understanding of occupational requirements.
• occupational and workplace researchers who are studying employment in Canada.
• guidance and career counsellors to provide advice on career options and educational routes.
• teachers as a source of ideas or things to do in the classroom based on a real world application of skills.