A Developmental Perspective on Workplace Readiness - Child Trends

A Developmental Perspective on

Workplace Readiness:Preparing High School Students for Success

R E S E A R C H B R I E F

Attention has been focused for decades on theneed to improve high school students’ preparationfor the workplace.43 Employers report that nearlyhalf of their entry-level employees are inade-quately prepared and lack basic communicationand critical thinking skills as well as a workethic.41 Although a postsecondary credential isconsidered necessary for today’s workforce, thereis also much that high schools can do to preparestudents. How can high schools help students de-velop the skills needed to succeed in the work-place? Current criteria developed by business andgovernment leaders tend to emphasize general be-haviors, skills, and competencies necessary forsuccess in the workplace. This brief will highlightspecific competencies that research has identifiedas necessary for a person to become a valued andskilled employee in the areas of social, cognitive,and psychological development. It also identifiesstrategies that high schools can use to help youngadults develop these competencies.

Social DevelopmentSocial competence is the set of skills neces-

sary to interact successfully with other people, tobe generous and thoughtful, and to use acceptedsocial techniques.5 Specific social competencieshighlighted in the workplace readiness researchinclude the ability to communicate well, work

with diverse groups, and resolve conflicts.The American Diploma project2 specificallyemphasizes that oral as well as written communi-cation skills are required for workplacesuccess.2,3,7,28,39-42,44 The Organization for Eco-nomic Cooperation and Development (OECD)47

identifies social and cross-cultural competenciesas necessary for successful interactions withclients, customers, and coworkers, especiallyin light of increased globalization and thediversification of society.

Specific social competence skills include:

• The ability to interact with otherpeople11,34,35 such as:• resolving conflicts;• cooperating;• working together on a team;• understanding and being tolerantof other people and cultures; and

• workingwith diverse populations. 12,25,28,44,47

• Choosing words precisely, beingpersuasive, and listening. 2

• Crafting effective written communica-tions such as emails, memos, and reports.

• The ability to speak a second language(for instance, Spanish for native Englishspeakers, and English for non-nativeEnglish speakers). 1,20

This brief draws from the report, A Developmental Perspective on College and Workplace Readiness,(http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2008_09_15_FR_ReadinessReport.pdf) by Laura Lippman,AstridAtienza,Andrew Rivers, and Julie Keith of Child Trends, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The report sum-marizes and compares competencies that researchers across three fields have found are necessary to be ready for college,the workplace, and a successful transition to adulthood. It applies a developmental framework to recommendations fromeach field that reveals where those recommendations fall short, from a developmental perspective, and how they could bestrengthened. It also highlights competencies that are particularly salient for students with specific challenges, and effec-tive ways that schools could support their development. A chart of key competencies across fields is included (the citationsfor each of these competencies are found in the full report).

4301 Connecticut Avenue, NW,Suite 350, Washington, DC 20008Phone 202-572-6000Fax 202-362-8420www.childtrends.org

Publication #2009-24

By Laura Lippman and Julie Keith April 2009

A Developmental Perspective onWorkplace Readiness:Preparing High School Students for Success 1

Cognitive DevelopmentWhile good grades in rigorous academic

subjects and a high school diploma are considerednecessary for college readiness, the workplacereadiness literature places less emphasis on them.16,27

In fact, basic academic skills are only one bench-mark for determining workplace readiness, andsome employers administer their own hiring tests todetermine whether a student is ready for a job, ratherthan relying on high school transcripts.2, 29

Employers often look for job-specific skillsand competencies that suggest a person wouldbe a dependable worker.16,24,27 These skills andcompetencies include:

• Obtaining a workforce readiness credential,such as a certificate in a specific trade;

• Having previous internship orwork experience;• The quality of the internship or work

experience; 3,8,15,16,18,19,24,39,44,46,49

• The ability to use technology; 40,41,43-45,47 and• Critical thinking/problem solving skills. 41

Psychological DevelopmentMental health is a key asset in the work-

place.7,39,43,44,47 Reports of high levels of depressionand anxiety found in the workplace17 indicate thatgood psychological development can help youngadults succeed at work. Personal qualities identifiedin the workplace readiness literature related topsychological development include:

• Positive self-esteem; 7

• Optimism and planfulness;• Coping skills, resilience and flexibility;• Good judgment; 8,9,13,33,34,39,40,43,44,47,49

• Self-management, such as motivation,autonomy, initiative, responsibility, timemanagement; 39,47 and

• Moral development, such as a strongwork ethic, reliability, honesty, integrity,and professionalism. 3,6,16,32,40,41,43,44,47

What can schools and communities doto help youth develop the skills neededfor the workplace?

Research suggests that if schools tailor curric-ula to workplace needs, increase support to studentsand offer activities relevant to the workplace, stu-dents will be better prepared to enter the workforce.

Improve school curriculum• Teach students social skills such as

cooperation, working in teams, negotiating,and resolving conflicts.

• Provide better access totechnology, and hire appropriately trainedfaculty to teach technology-relatedcourses.44

• Foster communication skillsas students prepare assignments,reports, and presentations. Specifically:• Assist students in developing writtencommunication skills by assigning workthat allows them to practice draftingbusiness correspondence such as emails,memos, and reports.2

• Assign oral presentations to studentsso that they can learn to summarizeinformation and develop persuasivearguments and reasoning skills.2

• Add coursework in career and technicaltraining that is relevant to the world ofwork so that students who are not on theacademic track to college can receivetraining that will benefit them beyondhigh school.33

• Offer work experience through multipleoptions, including programs that providetechnical curricula in addition to academiccurricula; partnerships with area businessesthat offer workplace experience and evensummer or permanent employment tostudents upon completion of thecurriculum.23

• Connect standard high school curriculamore directly with workforce needs, andprovide students with an understanding ofhow specific topics and skills are used inthe world of work.31

• Organize classes around themes that arerelevant to life beyond high school. 30

(Internships could be organized aroundsuch themes as well).

Increase support to students• Broaden the role of guidance counselors to

provide information and guidance on careerplanning in addition to preparation forcollege.• Provide students interested in career andtechnical training with information oncommunity college training programs orcertificate programs in a specific trade.

• Pair students with mentors to help developinterpersonal skills and identify careerinterests and opportunities.10,22,26,33,37 Mentorscan help foster leadership, communication,and social skills.50

A Developmental Perspective onWorkplace Readiness:Preparing High School Students for Success2

• Encourage at-risk students to participate intransition or transfer programs that lead tothe completion of a regular high schooldiploma rather than a GED. Researchdemonstrates that those with a high schooldiploma have long-term advantages,including social skills, that employers valueover those with a GED.21

• Implement positive mental health trainingand self-assessment tools so that studentscan learn how be resilient in a changingjob market.

• Help foster a sense of positive self-esteemby providing opportunities to exploreinterests, develop leadership, meet one’sgoals, and obtain skills training.4,36

Offer a variety of activities• Organize civic engagement opportunities

that can help students develop leadershipskills, communication skills, and interper-sonal skills, such as tolerance and theability to work with diverse populations.51

• Provide opportunities for career explorationby offering apprenticeships, internships,and job shadowing partnerships.49

• Coordinate job fairs so students can learnwhat types of jobs are available in thecommunity and can develop theirinterviewing skills.

When students are able to learn about topics and ac-quire skills that are relevant to work, when they havesupportive adults guiding them, and when they aregiven opportunities to explore different careers, theyare more likely to succeed in the workplace.14,29,33,48

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© 2009 Child Trends and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation


Support for this Research Brief comes from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.Child Trends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center that studies children at all stages of development. Our mission is to improveoutcomes for children by providing research, data, and analysis to the people and institutions whose decisions and actions affect chil-dren. For additional information on Child Trends, including publications available to download, visit our Web site atwww.childtrends.org. For the latest information on more than 100 key indicators of child and youth well-being, visit the ChildTrends DataBank at www.childtrendsdatabank.org. For summaries of over 350 experimental evaluations of social interventionsfor children, visit www.childtrends.org/LINKS.


High ExpectationsOptimism, Planfulness

Chart of Key Competencies Across Three Fields:Healthy Youth Development, College Readiness, and Workforce Readiness

This chart shows each competency mentioned in the report and whether research identifies the competency as criticalto healthy youth development, college readiness, or workforce readiness. The order is the same as is mentioned in thereport, and it does not imply level of importance. A scale of High, Medium, and Low has been used to identify the extentand strength of research for each competency. Blank spaces in this chart show that no research mentioning that compe-tency was found, not that the competency is unnecessary. Page numbers indicate where the competency is discussed inthe report.

Legend: Number of icons indicates the prominence of the competency in the research.

Low (1 or 2 references)

= Healthy Youth Development = College Readiness = Workforce Readiness

Medium (1 or 2 high-level reports + references) High (several high-level reports + references)

HEALTHY YOUTHDEVELOPMENT

PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

COMPETENCY PROMINENCEIN RESEARCH

Healthy Habits

Kinesthetic Ability

Positive Identity

Physical Safety

Self-Esteem

Avoiding RiskBehavior

Positive MentalHealth

Resilience,Flexibility

High ExpectationsOptimism, Planfulness

Self-managementMotivation, AutonomyInitiative

Decision Making,Good Judgments

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

COLLEGEREADINESS

WORKFORCEREADINESS

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

ManagingOne's Health

Workplace Safety

Character Integrity

Avoiding RiskBehavior

Self-Esteem

High ExpectationsHigh AchievementMotivation

Self-managementMotivation, Persistence,Initiative, Time management

Self-Esteem

Resilience,Flexibility

Self-managementMotivation, Autonomy, Initiative,Responsibility, Time Management

Decision Making,Good Work Ethic



SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

CommunicationSkills

CommunicationSkills

CommunicationSkills

Oral CommunicationSkills





SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

COLLEGEREADINESS

WORKFORCEREADINESS

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTCOGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Persuasiveness, AppropriatelyContributing to Group

Listening Skills

Effective WrittenCommunication

RigorousCoursework

Effective WrittenCommunication

QuantitativeCommunicationSkills

Understand US Norms,Democracy, and RaceDiscrimination



Using CommunicationTools Effectively



Acting Appropriately inLarger Context

Acting Appropriately inLarger Context

Acting Appropriatelyin Larger Context

Social Competence Social Competence Social Competence

Conflict Resolution Conflict Resolution Conflict Resolution,Cooperation

AcademicAchievement

AcademicAchievement

Achievement onEmployer Exams

RigorousCoursework

Ability to Adapt toDifferent Situations

Ability to Adapt toDifferent Situations

Cross-CulturalCompetency



Social Support Social Support

Prosocial Behaviors

Engagement inSchool

Engagement inWork

Prosocial Behaviors

Ability to Assist,Teach Others

4 Years High SchoolMath including Algebra II,Geometry, Statistics

4 Years of HighSchool English

High-level Math Coursesincluding Algebra IIand especially Calculus

Advanced ScienceCourses

Advanced ScienceCourses

4 Years of HighSchool English




COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

COLLEGEREADINESS

WORKFORCEREADINESS

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENTSPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

UnderstandResearch andTechnical Material

Attaining a HighSchool Diploma orOther Credential

Use Knowledge,Information and Tech-nology Interactively

SpiritualDevelopment

Language,Grammar Skills

Lifelong LearningSkills



EducationalAttainment

Attaining a HighSchool Diploma

Problem-solvingSkills

Religiosity


Previous WorkExperience, Tenurein Workforce

Critical Thinking

Lifelong Learning Skills,Inquisitiveness

Analysis, Evaluativeand Critical Thinking

UnderstandResearch

Quality of PastEmployment

Spirituality

Sense of Purpose

Use Knowledge,Information andTechnology Interactively

Creativity,Entrepreneurship


Lifelong LearningSkills

Language,Grammar Skills

Career Planning andJob Search Skills

Creativity

Analysis, Evaluativeand Critical Thinking

Reasoning,Argumentation

Reasoning,Argumentation

Foreign LanguageSkills

Foreign LanguageSkills

Use Knowledge,Information and Tech-nology Interactively


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A Developmental Perspective on Workplace Readiness - Child Trends