1 National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth Competencies for Working with Youth: Identify, Assess, and Build Them!

2 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities of Youth Service Professionals In this workshop, we will explore: 10 Competency Areas for working with all youth in the workforce development field Relevancy, Proficiency & Training Survey Results Implementation of these KSAs Professional development resources

3 Presenter Patricia D. Gill, Senior Project Manager The National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC) NCWD/Youth

4 Why these Organizations? NYEC has long-standing goal of supporting the professional development of youth service providers in the workforce development system. NCWD/Youth (a national TA center) is charged with the task of improving labor market outcomes for Youth with Disabilities (Y- w-D) a very vulnerable population!

5 Why the Concern? Assisting youth during the period of transition from adolescence to adulthood requires support and specialized knowledge drawn from multiple institutions and knowledge of youth development, education, and workforce development.

6 The Preparatory Workforce Development System The definition of the workforce development system for youth includes the K-16 education system, general workforce development organizations, rehabilitation programs, youth development/leadership programs, community and service learning organizations and more.

7 The Search for the Common Competencies What we did: Collected practical and relevant lists of competencies from the three fields of practice (youth development, education, and workforce development) including disability focused programs from over 70 different initiatives.

8 Range of Initiatives Reviewed Those initiatives that: Identify competencies Prepare training materials and/or Certify individuals based upon the competencies. (NOTE) Did not include pre-service education curriculums.

9 What We Found: Good news! Many common categories and skill requirements

10 KSAs: 10 Competency Areas 1. Knowledge of the Field (theory, law, professional ethics) 2. Communication with Youth (respect, listening, diversity, advocacy)

11 KSAs: 10 Competency Areas 3. Assessment & Individual Planning (informed choice, tools, track progress) 4. Relationship to Family & Community (engage family, connect to community)

12 KSAs: 10 Competency Areas 5. Workforce Preparation (skill-building, coaching, job matching) 6. Career Exploration (tools, engage employers, market trends)

13 KSAs: 10 Competency Areas 7. Relationships with Employers (recruit, engage, mediate, train, support) 8. Connection to Resources (identify, network, collaborate, market own)

14 KSAs: 10 Competency Areas 9. Program Design & Delivery (know systems, manage groups, evaluate) 10. Administrative Skills (referrals, team work, time management)

15 What Next? 1. Validate Competencies in a wide array of organizational settings 2. Build a Network of national stakeholders from the three fields of practice including those with disability expertise 3. Hold focus groups among providers to determine their priorities

16 Results of KSA Survey Most Relevant: (All pretty relevant!) Communication with Youth Administrative Skills Least Proficient: Assessment & Individualized Planning Program Design & Delivery Least Training: (Most was Administrative!) Relationships with Employers Connection to Resources Assessment & Individualized Planning

17 KSA Resources KSA Backgrounder KSA Self Assessment for Practitioners KSA Professional Development Plan for Practitioners KSA Hot Topic (On-line, audience-specific pages) Why Professional Development? Info Brief Coming Soon: KSA On-line Curriculum Outline (with objectives, activities, demonstration of learning & resources)

18 Types of Products & Resources How-To Guides Information and Policy Briefs Backgrounders Facts and Stats Hot Topics Syntheses Funding Sources Training Materials Future Resources Needed???

19 Additional Resources National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth National Youth Employment Coalition National Association of Workforce Development Professionals National Clearinghouse for Youth Development Practitioner Apprenticeship Programs National Training Institute for Community Youth Work/Academy for Educational Development Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF)