Perceptions of Technical Committee Members Regarding the Adoption of Skill Standards in Vocational Education Programs

As the international marketplace demands quality, timeliness, and customization in producing goods and services, increasing importance is being placed on the skills of individual workers. Vocational educators are being asked to reform their programs to provide occupational preparation that reaches higher standards for entry-level skilled workers. The needs for reform have emerged in part from a call for greater accountability in vocational education and concern about the condition of the American economy as it aligns with productivity and globalization (Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, 1990;Office of Work-Based Learning, 1992; andWarnat, 1992).