Career Essentials:

Experiences

Working together in teams, understanding leadership, communicating clearly and demonstrating integrity are required in any career. However, these skills aren’t easy to teach — until now. SkillsUSA Career Essentials: Experiences is the next generation of employability skill-building curricula developed for today’s students. SkillsUSA Career Essentials: Experiences is everything you need to give your students what they need to be career-ready.

SkillsUSA Career Essentials: Experiences takes your students to the next level of demonstration within the SkillsUSA learning continuum. It prepares students for the transition to the workforce or higher education through authentic project-based experiences. The online curricula empower teachers with high-quality skill development resources and advances the impact of the SkillsUSA Framework.

Each Experience is designed with the best practices of project-based learning. They include on-line and off-line learning events including pre- and post-test, an instructor-led kickoff, and content that contributes to project completion. Each Experience engages students in implementing the Essential Elements through contextualized learning applied to real-work situations.

There are nine fundamental Experiences that can be completed within one academic year but can be expanded or completed more quickly to meet local needs. In addition, the advanced Experiences curriculum has six Experiences and a capstone authentic assessment Experience in which students develop a career-ready portfolio. The advanced Experiences may also be completed within an academic year or expanded.

Each fundamental Experience may be completed in two weeks if approximately 30 minutes are invested each day. Each advanced Experience may be completed within three weeks if approximately 30 minutes are invested each day. All Experiences begin with a pre-test, and it is followed by a 30-minute instructor-led kick-off, and then on-line and off-line individual or group tasks that contribute to the project completion. Instructors have the flexibility to adapt each experience to the local context.

Students may earn an electronic badge for successfully passing each Experience with a score of at least 80%. Students may also earn a cumulative badge for successfully passing all Experiences in a given set.

All of the resources are delivered digitally through an e-learning site that provides:

  • 24/7 access to students and instructors on computers, tablets or smartphones
  • Turnkey tools and resources for instructors
  • A built-in grading and badging system
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The most important skills were the hardest to teach
– until now!

fundamental set

 Reliability | Resourcefulness | Resilience
Innovation | Cooperation | Project Management 
Responsiveness | Workplace Habits | Career Planning

Career Essentials: Experiences,
fundamental set

SkillsUSA Career Essentials: Experiences, fundamental set includes nine workplace-based Experiences. Each fundamental Experience may be completed over two weeks if students dedicate approximately 30 minutes per day. All Experiences were created using project-based learning design best practices and include a 30-minute instructor-led kickoff, student instruction sheets, instructor guides, online e-learning events, offline learning events, pre- and post-tests, and scoring rubrics.

Fundamental Experiences

The following include the Experience topics and the Essential Elements (career readiness skills) that are addressed from the SkillsUSA Framework:

Personal

Skills

Reliability

Essential Elements addressed: Professionalism, Integrity, and Responsibility

Resourcefulness

Essential Elements addressed:
Adaptability/Flexibility, Self-Motivation and Responsibility

Resilience

Essential Elements addressed: Work Ethic, Adaptability/ Flexibility, and Self-Motivation

Workplace

Skills

Innovation

Essential Elements addressed: Decision Making, Leadership, and Teamwork

Cooperation

Essential Elements addressed: Teamwork, Multicultural Sensitivity and Awareness, and Communication

Project Management

Essential Elements addressed: Planning, Organizing and Management, Decision Making, and Teamwork

Technical
Skills

(Grounded in Academics)

Responsiveness

Essential Elements addressed: Service Orientation, Professional Development, and Job-Specific Skills

Workplace Habits

Essential Elements addressed: Computer and Technology Literacy, Job-Specific Skills, and Safety and Health

Career Planning

Essential Elements addressed: Computer and Technology Literacy, Job-Specific Skills, and Professional Development

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advanced set

 Collaboration | Initiative | Continuous Improvement
Customer Service | Change Management

Career Readiness Capstone Project 

Career Essentials: Experiences,
advanced set

SkillsUSA Career Essentials: Experiences, advanced set includes five workplace-based Experiences and an authentic assessment capstone Experience. Students exit the advanced Experiences with a career-readiness portfolio and interview skills. Each advanced Experience may be completed in three weeks if students dedicate approximately 30 minutes each day.

All Experiences were created using project-based learning design best practices and include a 30-minute instructor-led kickoff, student instruction sheets, instructor guides, online e-learning events, offline learning events, pre- and post-tests, and scoring rubrics.

Advanced Experiences

The following list include the Experience topics and the Essential Elements (career readiness skills) that are addressed from the SkillsUSA Framework:

Technical Skills

Essential Elements addressed: Computer and Technology Literacy, Job-Specific Skills, Safety and Health, Service Orientation, and Professional Development

Personal Skills

Essential Elements addressed: Integrity, Work Ethic, Professionalism, Responsibility, Adaptability/Flexibility, and Self-Motivation

Workplace Skills

Essential Elements addressed: Communication, Decision Making, Teamwork, Multicultural Sensitivity and Awareness, Planning, Organizing and Management, and Leadership

Multi Component

Essential Elements addressed: Integrity, Work Ethic, Computer and Technology Literacy, Service Orientation, Communication, and Multicultural Sensitivity and Awareness

Multi Component

Essential Elements addressed: Adaptability/Flexibility, Computer and Technology Literacy, Communication, Decision Making, and Leadership

In addition to the first five Experiences of the advanced set, students complete a sixth Experience known as the Career Readiness Capstone, an authentic assessment.

Career Readiness Capstone Experience

In the Capstone, students spend time reviewing feedback they received on outputs in the first five Experiences. They revise and polish specific outputs to add to a career readiness portfolio which they will then be able to share with a potential employer. In addition, students complete a capstone reflection, a job search, the development of interview skills, and a practice interview. They prepare a resume, cover letter, thank you email or letter, as well as a letter requesting someone to serve as their reference. The capstone is all about students receiving and implementing feedback to prepare themselves for the world of work.

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Career Essentials: Experiences

More Information & Pricing

For more information and pricing information, complete the contact form below or contact by email at careeressentials@skillsusaillinois.org or by phone at 833.754.5545.

Additional Resources 

Demo the Experiences

Career Essentials: Experiences – Q&A

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