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Gateway
to the Future
Gateway
to the Future: Skill Standards for the Bioscience Industry
is published by Education Development Center, Inc. It contains
a complete set of skill standards and a chart
of all the specific tasks performed by a range of beginning
level technical occupations in pharmaceutical and biotechnology
companies, as well as university and government research and
clinical laboratories. The occupations are in manufacturing,
research and development, and clinical diagnostics. The standards
were developed and validated by technicians, supervisors,
and managers from over 100 bioscience industry workplaces.
The book also contains information about the
specific skills, knowledge, and attributes required for
work in the bioscience industry; the
tools and equipment used; assessment and certification
measures; and guidelines for using the standards in programs
to train people to work in the bioscience industry. The
skills, knowledge, and attributes are correlated with the
skill standards.
Goals
and Guiding Principles
Five
principles guided the process of creating and implementing
the National Bioscience Industry Skill Standards.
- Industry,
labor, and education must work together to ensure work-related
education prepares people for requirements of real-life
work.
- Experienced
workers are the experts in regard to their jobs and
can identify the work performed in their occupations and
required skills, knowledge, and behaviors.
- People
should be prepared for a "Learning Occupation,"
which encompasses skills and knowledge needed for a number
of related occupations throughout the industry. This opens
up a broad range of work opportunities and makes people
more adaptable for various jobs in an organization.
- "Integrated
Skill Standards," rather than compartmentalized,
task-focused skill standards, are needed to prepare people
for real-life work. Integrated Skill Standards place duties
and tasks, and the know-how needed to perform them, in the
context of real work scenarios that require decision-making
and problem solving.
- School-and
work-based learning should begin in the elementary grades
where real-life work applications are incorporated into
academic subjects and students learn in schools and in work-based
settings.
The
Integrated Skill Standards Format
Each
of the 34 Integrated Skill Standards contains the following
components:
- A
scenario presenting a real-life work situation and including
a routine procedure and an unanticipated problem the student
must master
- The
workplace setting in which the scenario would occur-research
and development, manufacturing, clinical laboratories, or
generic (applicable to all settings)
- Key
competency areas representing the Bioscience Technical
Specialist 1’s major areas of responsibility within the
context of the scenario
- Tasks
for performing routine procedures, which must be mastered
to successfully perform the scenario’s routine procedure
- Tasks
for solving problems, which must be mastered to solve
the scenario's problem
- Skills,
knowledge, and attributes (general and industry- specific)
necessary to master the scenario's routine procedure and
problem
- Tools
and equipment routinely used by technical specialists
in bioscience work
Who
Can Use the Integrated Skill Standards?
The
Integrated Skill Standards have been designed to assist employers,
educators, and current and future workers.
Employers.
The standards will guide employers as they interview prospective
employees, assess the readiness of current employees to move
to higher positions, develop (in partnership with educators)
programs to prepare future employees, and conduct in-house
training.
The
acceptance of Integrated Skill Standards by employers will
require that traditional job descriptions and evaluations
shift their emphasis from time spent in school to what a person
knows and can do in the work setting. This includes "connecting"
skills such as problem solving, decision-making, teamwork,
and resource management.
Educators.
The standards will serve as benchmarks for educators to create
and continuously update education/training programs and performance
criteria that meet current and evolving labor market needs.
This will ensure that students are prepared for skilled occupations
with career opportunities and/or for advanced education and
training.
Widespread
adoption of integrated Skill Standards by educators will require
modification of traditional task-focused teaching and assessment
to include project- and team-based learning, work experience,
emphasis on problem solving, and integration of academic and
work-related learning.
Labor
Unions, Current and future workers who need training or retraining.
The standards will help workers understand what they must
know and be able to do to enter or advance in the bioscience
industry. Program graduates will receive joint certification
from education and industry-portable credentials that recognize
their academic and technical mastery and are acknowledged
by employers throughout the country.
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