"Combined Academic Knowledge Technical Skills, and Employability Skills from Bioscience and Agricultural Biotechnology Skills Standards."

By: Education Development Center, Inc. and FFA Foundation, Inc.

INTRODUCTION

Between 1992 and 1995, the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor provided grants to develop national, industry-based skill standards for 23 industries in the United States.  Education Development Center, Inc.(EDC) received a grant to develop skill standards for entry and mid-level technical workers in the Bioscience Industry, with a focus on medical bioscience.  FFA Foundation, Inc. (FFA) received a grant to develop skill standards for technical workers in Agricultural Biotechnology.  Each of these development projects took nearly three years, and involved over 1000 industry representatives (managers and workers), educators, and others familiar with the work in these industries.  The results of the two national projects were two books of national skill standards - Gateway to the Future:  Skill Standards for the Bioscience Industry, and National Voluntary Occupational Skill Standards:  Agricultural Biotechnology Technician.

It was clear to both organizations that the two sets of standards should be integrated into one set that would cover the skill and knowledge requirements of all technicians in the entire biotechnology industry.  Furthermore, each set of standards emphasized certain aspects of the standards that the other did not.  By combining the two sets, we would have a stronger, more inclusive and extensive set of standards for the entire industry. 

In September 1996, EDC and FFA co-sponsored a workshop for 25 people, representing bioscience and agricultural biotechnology companies, high schools, and two-year colleges, to combine the two sets of skill standards. The workshop participants identified the similar tasks, technical skills, academic skills, and employability skills contained in both sets of standards.  They reconciled language differences, and combined the components from the two sets of standards into single lists.  They then identified all of the components in each set of standards that did not exist in the other set, and added these to the appropriate lists. 

The result was one comprehensive set of technical skills, academic skills, and employability skills, which are relevant for the entire industry.  Each skill area (e.g. Technical Communication Skills) contained a number of more specific skills in that category within it.  These combined lists were reviewed by an Advisory Board, and by over 100 people in several sites around the country.

On this web site are listed all of the Technical Skills resulting from this effort, and the more detailed skills in each category.  References that contain useful information and/or examples relevant to each of these skills are being included to assist you in defining them and using them in curriculum and other education activities.