State of Alaska > Department of Education & Early Development > Division of Teaching & Learning Support > Career & Technical Education 

The Alaska Industry Skills Coalition's Youth Employability Skills (YES!) project was developed to further prepare Alaska's youth for the world of work--helping them gain key "soft skills" that our industries say are needed.

The goal--from an industry-based and industry-led perspective--was to incorporate these skills and abilities into student learning across the state.

Background

The Industry Skills Coalition (ISC) was an industry-based working group of the Alaska Process Industry Careers Consortium, Alaska High-Tech Council, Alaska Hospitality Alliance, Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association, Associated General Contractors of Alaska, and Alaska Works partnership, with additional liaisons with the transportation and seafood industries. Individually and as a cooperating group, they were responding to employers in these sectors that youth are chronically ill-prepared for entering employment.

The industry-led project builds on work that a number of state agencies, educators and several employers completed in 2001. These work sessions took the first steps in developing "ready to work/work readiness" standards for Alaska's young people who are entering the job market. The state group isolated a series of work ethic-related skills believed to be aligned with what employers want to see (beyond essential competence in basic skills such as math and language use).

Through a “Youth Employability Skills” (aka YES!) Institute conducted August 12 and 13, 2003, a follow up YES Symposium September 25-27, 2003, and YES Pilot Sites, several employers, educators and state agencies worked together to craft an assessment that can be piloted throughout Alaska through 2003 and into 2004.