The Ontario Skills Passport

THE ONTARIO SKILLS PASSPORT

The Ontario Skills Passport is a document that provides clear descriptions of skill requirements for entry-level work in today's labour market. It also includes work habits deemed to be important by employers at the workplace.The Ontario Skills Passport gives employers a standard way to assess and record work-related skills and work habits demonstrated at the workplace. The Ontario Skills Passport gives students and job seekers a record of their demonstration of these skills and work habits at the workplace. The following skills are included in the Ontario Skills Passport:

• Reading, writing, use of documents, use of computers, money math, data analysis, problem solving, job task planning, measurement and calculation, numerical estimation, oral communication, decision-making, scheduling and budgeting and accounting.
  
  The Ontario Skills Passport also includes the following work habits:
• Teamwork, initiative, reliability, customer service, and entrepreneurship.

HOW THE ONTARIO SKILLS PASSPORT WORKS

Only employers can verify the performance of tasks and skills at the workplace by students and job seekers. Employers record the tasks performed, skill level and consistency of performance in the Ontario Skills Passport. Employers, teachers and job developers should refer to the Quick Assessment Forms that are a companion piece to the Ontario Skills Passport. These forms consist of lists of tasks in five categories of jobs that help determine the skill level for many typical tasks in various jobs and work placements.

WHY THE ONTARIO SKILLS PASSPORT IS NEEDED

For students and job seekers, the Ontario Skills Passport will help them to understand the skills they have and the skills they need to develop to meet the requirements for entry into the labour market. The skills passport provides them with a record of work-related skills and work habits that they demonstrate at the workplace during various work experiences, including school-work transition programs, co-operative education programs, the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program, the Job Connect Program and other experiences such as volunteering, paid part-time and summer work. It will support their transition to work by providing them with the language and evidence to talk with employers about the skills they have developed and to market their skills to employers.The Ontario Skills Passport will assist employers, teachers, job developers and job seekers to build a skilled labour force in order to remain competitive in a growing global economy.

PILOT TESTING THE ONTARIO SKILLS PASSPORT

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities are conducting a pilot test of the Ontario Skills Passport in 19 school boards and 7 Job Connect Agencies throughout the province of Ontario between November 2001 - June 2002. The Toronto Catholic District School Board is a proud participant of the Ontario Skills Passport Pilot Project and currently has 21 secondary schools and well over 400 employers and students across the board taking part in the pilot project. For further information on the Ontario Skills Passport, please contact Luciano Di Loreto, Ontario Skills Passport Project Coordinator Toronto Catholic District School Board 416-222-8282 ext. 3159 luciano.diloreto@tcdsb.org.For complete viewing of the Ontario Skills Passport, please visit our web site at http://skills.edu.gov.on.ca.