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Findings from an interview-based study on employability skills

Welcome

Welcome to EmployabilitySkills.org, where educators and employers can find resources and ideas for helping students develop the professional skills that matter in technical education and the workplace. The materials on this site were originally developed through Project GOALS (Greater Opportunities to Advance Lifelong Success), an NSF Advanced Technological Education project focused on communication, teamwork, adaptability, and lifelong learning (NSF DUE 2000881).

Building on Project GOALS, the new NSF ATE Badging ProSkills project is developing micro-credentials that make these skills more visible and portable. In partnership with Evergreen Valley College (East San Jose, CA), we are creating badge pathways that recognize both students’ professional skills and faculty members’ capacity to teach them. The badges and accompanying resources are designed for integration into existing STEM technician courses to help students practice, document, and share evidence of their skills with employers.

Resources and Updates

The materials currently available on this site include ready-to-use Project GOALS lessons, videos, classroom activities, reflection tools, and rubrics focused on communication, teamwork, adaptability, and lifelong learning.

Through the current Badging ProSkills project, we will build on these materials through July 2028. We are developing and testing Canvas-based micro-credentials for students and faculty in partnership with Evergreen Valley College. New badging resources and findings will be added as they become available.

  • EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS

    EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS

    Employability skills are non-technical skills necessary for career success.

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  • HOW THEY DEVELOP

    HOW THEY DEVELOP

    Employability skills develop over time with repeated practice.

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  • TEACHING EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS

    TEACHING EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS

    Educators and employers who work with early career technicians have developed many strategies for teaching employability skills.

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  • Everyone will be learning on the job.

    - Interviewee, IT Employer 15

  • The big foundational skill is not being afraid to make a mistake.

    - Interviewee, Advanced Manufacturing Employer 14

  • A lot of the curriculum does not have business at its core, and we need more of that. I’ve been pushing that.

    - Interviewee, IT Educator 12

  • It’s very difficult to motivate a person into a learning cycle if that’s not something that someone has an interest in doing.

    - Interviewee, IT Employer 16

  • I think the first thing you look for in an employee is they’re embracing what we do as a business and understanding their part in that.

    - Interviewee, Advanced Manufacturing Educator 6