Durable skills — including critical thinking, collaboration, and resilience — are key to professional success. But how do they grow over time? In Toward a Leveled Durable Skills Competency Framework, the Lab proposes a flexible approach to leveling, aligned to individuals’ lived experiences.
Education Design Lab’s Durable Skills Competency Framework was created in 2013 through a collaborative process with employers and educators. It identifies the nine most in-demand durable skills and breaks them into sub-competencies with observable behaviors.
In 2023, the Lab began a months-long effort to determine if and how the existing Durable Skills Competency Framework could be leveled to better describe these skills at different stages of professional growth, adding a layer of specificity to the definition and validation of durable skills.
We propose leveling these skills by career progression — characterized as increasing autonomy, influence, and complexity — rather than traditional hierarchies or proficiency levels.
In our December 2024 publication — Toward a Leveled Durable Skills Competency Framework — we explore this innovative approach to leveling durable skills, along with key insights gained through the process so far … and next steps for development.
Written for employers, educators, and workforce development professionals, this resource explains how to level the Lab’s existing competency framework by walking you through an example scenario from the retail industry.
We also discuss several potential implications for hiring practices, skill development programs, and educational curricula.
This publication has been authored by Meghan Raftery, Education Designer. Meghan leads the improvement and expansion of the Lab’s skills validation tools, establishing a new suite of skills validation services, and is leading the work of the Skills Validation Network.
