EDC Work Ready Now! Framework
The Work Ready Now! (WRN) Framework outlines learning standards for the WRN work readiness curriculum developed by Education Development Center (EDC), an international nonprofit that designs, implements, and evaluates interventions to improve education and health and expand economic opportunity. Based on international standards, the framework consists of eight core content modules and three optional modules that serve as a guiding framework for the curriculum. It focuses on the cross-cutting and transferable knowledge, skills, and behaviors/attitudes young people in emerging economies require to succeed in the workplace and earn a living. It is designed to align with three internationally recognized work readiness frameworks (SCANS, P21, and ATC21S) and includes content and performance standards for the WRN curriculum.
Breakdown by Domain
Domain Key
Key Features
Context & Culture
- Curriculum modules are designed to be easily adapted to the local context
- Offers curriculum adaptations for youth with low literacy levels
Developmental Perspective
- Notes that the knowledge, skills, and attitudes/behaviors outlined in the framework are interrelated both in terms of how they are learned and developed and how they are applied in work settings, and modules are thus intended to be taught in sequence as the skills within them build on each other
- Has developed performance standards to describe various levels of youth performance across most skill areas to inform assessment
- No learning progression provided
Associated Outcomes
- Describes positive program impacts related to employment status, job performance and retention, and employer satisfaction, but does not link outcomes related to specific workforce readiness skills
Available Resources
Support Materials
- Offers implementation toolkit designed to support program staff in the creation, adaptation, and assessment of work readiness programs
Programs & Strategies
- The framework is designed to provide learning standards for each area of skills taught by the WRN work readiness curriculum
- WRN facilitator trainings teach facilitators to use participatory, learner-centered approaches for skill development and are typically offered through local institutions like vocational schools and youth-serving organizations
Measurement Tools
- The WRN work readiness credential test is aligned to the WRN framework and curriculum, and uses situational judgement and knowledge-based test items to measure non-cognitive work readiness skills such as teamwork, problem solving, and customer service in order to assess whether job seekers have the requisite skills and attitudes to succeed in the workplace
- Offers module quizzes and a curriculum-based test to assess the acquisition and application of content knowledge learned in WRN work readiness training
Key Publications
- Work Ready Now! website: https://www.edc.org/work-ready-now-wrn
- Education Development Center. (2019). EDC's Work Readiness Program. Retrieved from: https://www.edc.org/sites/default/files/Work-Ready-Now.pdf
- Education Development Center. (2015). A study of the WRN! credential test's relationship to youth jobs and employer satisfaction. Retrieved from: https://www.edc.org/sites/default/files/uploads/WRN%20Credential%20Study%20Akazi%20Kanoze%20Fall%202015.pdf