Skill standards
specify what a worker needs to know and be
able to do on the job, as well as the level of
performance required to demonstrate competence
in that knowledge and skill. Both work- and
worker-oriented information are essential
pieces of meaningful skill
standards.
In an effort to
facilitate portability of credentials and
transferability of individuals’ skills,
the Texas Skill Standards Board (TSSB)
designed the Texas skill standards elements,
format, and recognition requirements to
promote the linkage of state and national
skill standards efforts.
Categories of
Recognition
TSSB skill
standards fall into two categories: Recognized
or Conditionally Recognized. While both are
equal in terms of TSSB approval, the
recognition categories distinguish two
possible types of skill standards.
Recognized
The "Recognized"
category is awarded to skill standards
developed and validated in Texas by Texas
industry and formatted into the seven standard
TSSB elements. This category applies
primarily to skill standards developed for
occupations where no standards previously
existed. In a few cases, national skill
standards have been converted into the TSSB
elements and format.
Conditionally
Recognized
The
“Conditionally Recognized”
category is granted to skill standards
developed and validated by industry somewhere
other than Texas. This category applies to
skill standards that have already been
developed for an occupation. Rather than
reinvent the wheel, the TSSB acknowledges
valid and reliable skill standards that are
accepted across an industry. Conditionally
Recognized skill standards vary in elements
and format, depending upon the entity that
developed or endorsed the
standards.
Conditional
recognition applies only to industry skill
standards endorsed or recognized by one of the
following authorities:
-
The
former National Skill Standards Board
(NSSB) or its voluntary industry
partnerships;
-
National industry groups;
-
State
skill standards recognition
authorities (such as another
state’s skill standards board
or equivalent body); and
-
International skill standards
recognition authorities (such as
another country’s skill
standards board or equivalent
body).
Note:
The “Conditional” in this category
of recognition refers to the fact that the
skill standards may be converted to Recognized
if an industry group chooses to validate the
skill standards in Texas and convert them to
the TSSB elements and format. However, Conditional Recognition does not
indicate an inferior or temporary status for
standards that will eventually be upgraded to
Recognized. Standards in both categories have
been “fully” recognized, are equal
in value, and are valid, reliable and
representative of the work they
describe.
Requirements to receive skill standards
recognition in either category are delineated
in the TSSB’s
Guidelines for the Development, Recognition
and Usage of Skill Standards.
Caveat
The Texas Skill
Standards Board does not recommend nor endorse
the use of skill standards for purposes other
than education and training, and related
career information purposes.
While skill
standards have a multiplicity of uses,
there are legal considerations and
limitations to those uses. In the event
that an enterprise, business or corporation
desires to use recognized skill standards
for any reason other than an education and
training purpose, it is imperative that the
skill standards be internally validated by
the company through rigorous and documented
validation processes. The TSSB recognized
skill standards may serve as the basis for
company skill standards, but the standards
must be deemed to be internally valid and
reliable by a particular company prior to
use in employee selection, promotion or
other processes.
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