News Release from VanNatta Public Relations
Contact Info: Cherie Clark, Manager, Career and Career Pathways, Oregon Department of Education/Willamette ESD
Phone: 503.540.4420 (Main), 503.370.5007 (Desk)
Email: cherie.clark@wesd.org
Educators and business leaders across Oregon are invited to participate in a vital survey aimed at shaping the future of Oregon’s workforce. This four-question survey focuses on the Oregon Employability Skills (OES) program, a key initiative that bridges the gap between education and industry through a free, open-source online curriculum.
The OES program equips Oregonians, particularly K-12 students, with essential workplace skills. Upon completing the program, participants earn a badge certifying their competence in these critical areas, helping them stand out in today’s competitive job market.
Charlie Hopewell, Co-Chair and Director of Oregon’s Workforce & Talent Development Board stated, “Businesses across all industries continue to express frustration that job applicants and current employees often lack ‘soft’ skills like communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and empathy. Until now, neither education nor industry has developed a clear system to teach, assess, and certify these essential skills.”
The OES website offers a standards-aligned curriculum for K-12 students, including lesson plans, presentations, student workbooks, and assessments. Soon, it will include an e-learning component for self-study.
Cherie Clark, Project Manager of the Oregon Employability Skills program, noted, “We designed this curriculum to equip educators, nonprofits, and industry professionals with the tools they need to help the future workforce develop, embrace, and articulate employability skills.”
Clark hopes employers will recognize the badges students earn and also use the curriculum to help current employees improve and advance in their careers.
Hopewell, a former industry leader, urged educators and business owners to complete the survey and engage with the program. “These are foundational skills,” he emphasized. “When employees learn, practice, and receive support for essential employability skills, the results are dramatic—lower turnover, healthier work environments, and a deeper level of engagement in their work.”
The survey will remain open until Oct. 7, and participants are encouraged to share it with colleagues and other stakeholders in education and industry. Respondents will have the opportunity to enter a drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card.
To participate in the survey, visit www.OregonEmployabilitySkills.org or click here.
For more information, contact Cherie Clark, Manager, Career and Career Pathways, Oregon Department of Education/Willamette ESD, at cherie.clark@wesd.org or 503.540.4420.
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About Oregon Employability Skills (OES):
The OES initiative stems from decades of collaboration between education and industry to improve workforce readiness. Discussions about 21st-century skills began in the 1980s. In 2019, JP Morgan Chase invested millions into the Skills Panel Report, laying the groundwork for Oregon’s program. The New World of Work project in California further inspired this effort. In 2021, Oregon’s Workforce & Talent Development Board and Oregon Department of Education steered, funded, and created the OES curriculum, resulting in the development of the website that includes education standards-aligned lesson plans, presentations, student workbooks, and assessments.
The essential skills list:
- Adaptability: Open to Change
- Collaboration: Team Player
- Digital Literacy: Good with Technology
- Entrepreneurial Mindset: Go-Getter
- Self-Awareness: Self-Understanding
- Analysis/Solution Mindset: Problem Solver
- Communication: Good Communicator
- Empathy: Sensitive to Others’ Feelings
- Resilience: Plans for Success and Handles Failure
- Social Diversity/Awareness: Sensitivity to Differences.