March 23, 2023
States across the country recognize the importance of college and career readiness, and they are beginning to establish methods for students to showcase skills other than technical and academic ones. Missouri’s DESE Show Me Success Plan provides a framework for ensuring students are ready for their futures and Success-Ready Students and Workforce Development is one of the four key areas of the plan.
In order to make sure students are ready for success and the workforce, schools need to attend to the skills beyond academic and technical credentials. Soft skills are critical. Nearly three-quarters of employers say they cannot find graduates with sufficient soft skills and soft skills deficits are the number one reason for identifying a bad hire. Soft skills also predict academic outcomes and degree attainment.
We measure, train and track the critical soft skills that are imperative for success. Our skills were identified after cross-walking many frameworks used to design career readiness, including 21st Century Skills, CASEL’s Social and Emotional Skills Framework, and OECD’s career readiness skills. Schools need a strategy to address these sets of skills and JAKAPA can help. We offer a validated assessment and development system that measures 32 skills in five different areas, including self-management, innovation, social engagement, cooperation, and emotional resilience. Through peer and self-assessments, students can gain multiple perspectives of their skills in a variety of contexts and show growth over time, comparative data, strengths, and areas for growth. Our development system helps students develop these skills and collects engagement data to help students showcase their work ethic and dedication to skill development.
ACT reports that only 25 percent of Missouri graduates met all four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks (2019). A full third of Missouri graduates met zero ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. This means students are not demonstrating academic readiness for their futures and underscores the importance of including soft skills as part of the Show Me Success Plan. Students who use JAKAPA for 10-15 minutes per day can improve their skills and develop a soft skills resume they can use to showcase their strengths to potential employers or to compete for scholarships.
Contact JAKAPA today to learn more and schedule a demo, so you can learn how JAKAPA can help your district achieve the vision of the Show Me Success Plan by preparing your students for the workforce and their futures.
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