COMMUNICATION
Aligning Skills for Sustainability with the Ontario Qualifications Framework (OQF) and Essential Employability Skills (EES)
(EES)
Ontario Qualifications
Framework – Ontario
College Diploma (2 yr.)
CAAT Essential
Employability
Skills (EES)
EES defining
skills
Alignment with ‘sustainability’ defining skills
- skills inventory based on inter-jurisdictional research and industry
interviews
Communication skills
▪ Communicate clearly,
concisely and correctly in the
written, spoken and visual form
that fulfils the purpose and
meets the needs of the
audience
▪ Respond to written, spoken or
visual messages in a manner
that ensures effective
communication
Communication
skills
▪ Communicate
clearly, concisely
and correctly in
the written,
spoken and visual
form that fulfills
the purpose and
meets the needs
of the audience
▪ Respond to
written, spoken
or visual
messages in a
manner that
ensures effective
communication
▪ Reading
▪ Openness – ability to listen and hear with intellectual openness outside of one’s
usual way of thinking (‘intelligent listening’); soliciting diverse points of view
▪ Writing
▪ Speaking
▪ Listening
▪ Presenting
▪ Visual literacy
▪ Openness to reason and evidence; ‘street-sense for science’
▪ Observation – looking at things differently, deliberately
▪ Developing dialogue; authentic dialogue, skillful discussion, effective listening,
candor
▪ Capacity to ask the right question; construct good arguments; challenge
assumptions; debate
▪ Ability to clarify personal positions
▪ Ability to justify solutions
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▪ Effective communication for diverse audiences/stakeholders
▪ Engagement - building trust (e.g. organizational story-telling)
▪ Information sharing (transparency)
▪ Effective use of social media as a communication (lobbying/ advocacy) tool
Helen Knibb. Ver2 May 1, 2013 (hknibb@nexicom.net)
PERSONAL
Aligning Skills for Sustainability with the Ontario Qualifications Framework (OQF) and Essential Employability Skills (EES)
(EES)
Ontario Qualifications
Framework – Ontario
College Diploma (2 yr.)
CAAT Essential
Employability
Skills (EES)
EES defining
skills
Alignment with ‘sustainability’ defining skills
- skills inventory based on inter-jurisdictional research and industry
interviews
Professional capacity/
autonomy
a) Personal responsibility and
autonomy in performing
complex technical operations or
organizing others
d) Ability to manage [one’s]
professional development
▪ Manage the use
of time and other
resources to
complete
projects
▪ Managing self
▪ Ability to seek/receive feedback; learning from mistakes; self-evaluation of
performance
▪ Take
responsibility for
one’s own
actions, decisions
and their
consequences
▪ Demonstrating
personal
responsibility
Awareness of limits of
knowledge
An understanding of the limits
of [one’s] own knowledge and
skill level and an appreciation
of the methods and techniques
that [one] is not qualified to
employ
▪ Managing
change & being
adaptable
▪ Respect for/awareness of contributions of others (e.g. professionals, community
stakeholders)
▪ Long-term, future-oriented thinking (envisioning, recognizing implications of one’s
actions, dealing with predictions)
▪ Practical strategies and concrete action; capacity to see consequences of one
actions, accountability for one’s actions; courage
▪ Openness to change; managing change/change agent skills/capacity to handle
uncertainty/adaptive management
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▪ Adaptability/resilience
▪ Process management/project management (a bundle of skills that makes all jobs
easier – not necessarily a specialization); skills for planning and implementation
▪ Capacity for continuous learning (formal/informal); be adept at learning in multiple
contexts
▪ Respect for conserving tradition; cultural sensitivity; commitment to equality and
fairness
▪ Civic responsibility; concepts of local/global citizenship; trans-cultural
understanding; working/living in a diverse society
▪ Concept of service (community, professional)
▪ Ethic of environmental care
▪ Aesthetic sensibility
▪ Personal mastery (understanding the connection between current reality and
personal vision)
Helen Knibb. Ver2 May 1, 2013 (hknibb@nexicom.net)
INTERPERSONAL
Aligning Skills for Sustainability with the Ontario Qualifications Framework (OQF) and Essential Employability Skills (EES)
(EES)
Ontario Qualifications
Framework – Ontario
College Diploma (2 yr.)
CAAT Essential
Employability
Skills (EES)
EES defining
skills
Alignment with ‘sustainability’ defining skills
- skills inventory based on inter-jurisdictional research and industry
interviews
Conceptual & Methodological
Awareness
A range of skills, with
associated knowledge,
showing substantial depth in
some areas where judgment is
required in the planning and
selection of appropriate
equipment, services, or
techniques for self and others
▪ Show respect
for the diverse
opinions, values,
belief systems
and contributions
of others
▪ Teamwork
▪ Social competence/intelligence – capacity to build relationships
▪ Relationship
management
▪ Social responsibility
Professional capacity/
autonomy
b) Participation in teams,
including teams concerned
with planning and evaluation
functions
c) Group or team coordination
may be involved
▪ Interact with
others in groups
or teams in ways
that contribute to
effective
relationships and
the achievement
of goals
▪ Organizational learning
▪ Conflict
resolution
▪ Capacity to work in inter-generational, culturally diverse environments with people
from different socio-cultural backgrounds
▪ Leadership
▪ Networking
▪ Ability to understand diverse perspectives; acknowledging individual differences;
conflict resolution and negotiation (e.g. employer-employee relations)
▪ Stakeholder engagement, management and collaboration; employee engagement
▪ Capacity building/motivational skills
▪ Ability to work in cross-sectoral teams
▪ Empathy; emotional intelligence
▪ Leadership and ‘communityship’; developing a shared vision; building alignment;
capacity to nurture networks or relationships in a community
▪ Collaboration/collaborative design/sharing what you know/ partnership
development
Helen Knibb. Ver2 May 1, 2013 (hknibb@nexicom.net)
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CRITICAL THINKING & PROBLEM SOLVING
Aligning Skills for Sustainability with the Ontario Qualifications Framework (OQF) and Essential Employability Skills (EES)
(EES)
Ontario Qualifications
Framework – Ontario
College Diploma (2 yr.)
CAAT Essential
Employability
Skills (EES)
EES defining
skills
Alignment with ‘sustainability’ defining skills
- skills inventory based on inter-jurisdictional research and industry
interviews
Conceptual & methodological
awareness
c) Application of a variety of
thinking skills and a systematic
approach to anticipate and
solve problems
▪ Apply a
systemic
approach to solve
problems
▪ Analyzing
▪ Analyzing and synthesis (greater emphasis on synthesis); monitoring and evaluation
▪ Synthesizing
▪ Evaluating
▪ Systems-thinking (e.g. inter-connectedness of ecological, cultural, economic, or
political systems); capacity to analyze consequences of individual and collective
actions
▪ Decisionmaking
▪ Integrated thinking/decision-making—the ability to connect ideas and methods
across contexts and apply them to new problems
▪ Creative &
innovative
thinking
▪ Foresighted thinking; responsible thinking; consideration of consequences
(precautionary principle); minimizing negative impacts; optimizing social,
environmental or economic benefits
▪ Inclusive visioning
▪ Strategic thinking; capacity to plan and manage change
Application of knowledge
a) A range of complex or nonroutine activities; coordination
and evaluation
b) The planning and initiation of
alternative approaches to skill
and knowledge application
c) The application of knowledge
and skills, with substantial
depth in some areas where
judgement is required in
planning/selecting appropriate
equipment, services, and
techniques…
Professional capacity/
autonomy
a) Participation in the
development of strategic
initiatives
Awareness of limits of
knowledge
An understanding of the limits
of [one’s] knowledge and skill
level…
▪ Use a variety of
thinking skills to
anticipate and
solve problems
▪ Resilience; cultivating multiple perspectives
▪ ‘Breakthrough’ thinking (awareness of limitations/ability to seek help, working
within resource limitations)
▪ Critical decision-making
▪ Ethical/moral decision-making/ethic of environmental care
▪ Dealing with complexity, risk, instability, ambiguity & uncertainty; solving complex
problems; dealing with uncertain environments
▪ Creative problem solving; practical problem-solving
▪ Enterprise skills; initiative, innovation and creativity
▪ Sustainable design skills
▪ Spatial understanding/literacy
Helen Knibb. Ver2 May 1, 2013 (hknibb@nexicom.net)
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Aligning Skills for Sustainability with the Ontario Qualifications Framework (OQF) and Essential Employability Skills (EES)
(EES)
CAAT Essential
Employability
Skills (EES)
EES defining
skills
Alignment with ‘sustainability’ defining skills
- skills inventory based on inter-jurisdictional research and industry
interviews
Conceptual & methodological
awareness
d) Ability to analyze, evaluate
and apply relevant information
from a variety of sources
▪ Locate, select,
organize and
document
information using
appropriate
technology and
information
systems
▪ Analyze,
evaluate and
apply relevant
information from
a variety of
sources
▪ Gathering &
managing
information
▪ Selecting &
using appropriate
tools &
technology for a
task or project
▪ Computer
literacy
▪ Internet skills
▪ Networking/leveraging virtual communities/self-organizing networks/crowd
sourcing/online collaboration
INFORMATION/KNOWLEDGE
MANAGEMENT
Ontario Qualifications
Framework – Ontario
College Diploma (2 yr.)
▪ Technological appraisal (capacity to evaluate technological innovation)
▪ Selection and use of digital tools in order to manage rapid change and uncertainty
▪ Inter-disciplinary research skills
▪ Managing complex systems – emergent, non-linear, unpredictable, not easily
managed
▪ Use of scientific evidence
NUMERACY
▪ Critical assessment of information resources
Conceptual & Methodological
Awareness
b) Understanding and
application of mathematical
concepts and reasoning;
analyzing and using
numerical data; and
conceptualizing
▪ Execute
mathematical
problems
accurately
▪ Understanding
& applying
mathematical
concepts
▪ Analyzing and
using numerical
data
▪ Conceptualizing
▪ Understanding of scale: time, inter-generational, local to global
▪ Conceptualizing (understanding earth’s limits; resource depletion and conservation;
scale; carbon/ecological footprints; limits of consumption)
▪ Sustainability forecasting/prediction
▪ Data collection, monitoring, bench-marking, use of metrics, performance reporting
▪ Spatial understanding
The sustainability skills inventory was compiled from numerous reports, studies, commentaries and interviews, primarily from Canada, the
United States, Australia, the European Union and member states, 2010-13. The skills listed, although sometimes expressed differently, are those
that occurred with greatest frequency regardless of jurisdiction.
Helen Knibb. Ver2 May 1, 2013 (hknibb@nexicom.net)
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