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This pamphlet provides a hierarchy of skills, from those most often used in the craft trades to those less frequently used, indicating the extent to which these skills are used by workers in 24 different occupational groups. The pamphlet also provides a secondary school vocational model for craft trades along with lists of the identified skills. This model contains a recommended sequence of study in which students learn those skills extensively used by most craft trades before making occupational decisions. It makes broad occupational family selections and finally narrows to single occupational decisions. While learning the skills commonly used by a variety of trades, the students use this skill information to help make and refine occupational decisions. The model includes lists of clusters of skills, including core skills needed by all, skill clusters, occupational family clusters, and specialized occupational skills. The skills were identified through a questionnaire that measured the use of 588 tools, including portable hand tools, powered hand tools, test and diagnostic tools, shop machinery and equipment, wheeled vehicles, heavy mobile equipment, and associated safety processes. The questionnaire was administered to 1600 tradespersons, trades supervisors, technicians, technologists, and trades helpers to determine which skills were used in work performance. A total of 131 occupations, mostly craft trades, were involved in this survey. (KC)

The generic skills studies in Canada have as their objectives the formulation of generic skills, the identification of their uses for certain occupational groups, and the preparation of specifications for instructional modules in an attempt to provide greater flexibility to workers, employers, and vocational training programs. Another objective of the studies is to determine skill transferability between occupations. Types of generic skills examined include academic skills, reasoning skills, interpersonal skills, manipulative skills, and science skills. Workers have been surveyed in 49 occupations; supervisors have been surveyed in 28 occupations. Occupational families surveyed include clerical and administration; technology, architecture and engineering; medicine and health; sales; service; machining and related occupations; fabricating assembly and repair; construction; motor transport; and farmers. Data from these surveys have been gathered into charts of generic skills in communications, mathematics, science, and reasoning according to occupational groups such as writing on forms, memos, and technical reports for each of the occupational families. Core clusters and non-core skills for these occupations were also discerned and listed, and chart of generic skill transferability between occupational families was created. (KC)

The Generic Skills studies were designed to provide training specifications that will enable graduates of trades training programs to compete for job placement in a range of occupations rather than in a single occupation. The studies identified a number of trade families, classified on the basis of skills used in work performance, and also identified the skill requirements for each of the trade families. Skills were identified through a questionnaire that measured the use of 588 trade tools, including portable hand tools power hand tools, test and diagnostic tools, shop machinery and equipment, wheeled vehicles, heavy mobile equipment, and associated safety processes. The questionnaire was administered to 1600 tradespersons, trades supervisors, technicians, technologists, and trades helpers, to determine which skills are used in work performance. A total of 131 occupations, mostly craft trades, were involved in the survey. The data were tabulated by occupation and by skill to determine which skills belonged to which occupations and which skills were required in all or most of the occupations. Commonality factors were determined for each pair of occupations identified and were used to formulate trade families. Lists of skills common to trade families were made up for mechanics, machinists, metal workers, woodworkers, and construction workers. In addition, a list of core skills common to all occupations was generated. (KC)