Vocational Assessment System

The central effort of the Skills mission is to help individuals with disabilities find meaningful, gainful employment. Through hard word and diligence, the individuals Skills serves are able to achieve professional success and build long-lasting ties and relationships within the community.

Skills comprehensive, person-centered vocational assessment system is the foundation for planning future opportunities for the individual. Skills focuses on ABILITIES rather than disabilities.

Skills vocational assessment system maintains a strength-based approach by utilizing in-depth interviews and comprehensive evaluations. Staff use information gained from this assessment to help individuals identify their strengths, preferences, areas of need, learning abilities and career interests, then make recommendations to assist the person with planning his or her vocational future.

Person-Centered, Strength-Based Process

Skills Facility-Based Assessment uses a person-centered process. Individuals increase career awareness through analysis of their own worker profile of:

  • Vocational aptitudes
  • Achievement levels
  • Temperament
  • Work attitudes

While the majority of people are tested academically and/or psychologically during their school years, most have not been tested for the what is probably the most important asset in their lives — the ability to function well in the world of work.

Skills assessment process helps individuals identify their strengths, areas of need, and learning abilities. Staff help people strategize individualized methods of setting short-term and long-term goals toward obtaining employment.

About Skills Vocational Assessment Tool

The Skills Vocational Assessment Tool is a comprehensive, valid, nondiscriminatory, and reliable evaluation used to accurately analyze an individual’s strengths and areas of need. It can be administered in a variety of settings, can be tailored to the needs of an individual, and can be subdivided to evaluate specific traits or aptitudes, such as attitude, temperament, finger dexterity, general learning ability, color discrimination, motor coordination, or manual dexterity.

Alternative administration procedures are available for individuals with physical limitations. Staff are fully trained in alternative administration techniques, such as reading questions and/or marking answers for people with visual impairments or low reading abilities. Braille versions of this vocational assessment are also available.

Benefits

Skills Vocational Assessment tool maintains a strength-based approach to assessment. Staff use the information gained during the evaluation to identify areas of need and make realistic vocational goal recommendations.

Through in-depth interviews, comprehensive assessments and supportive services, staff can build on the person’s strengths, skills and interests.

The Facility-Based Assessment is:

  • Portable — Can be administered in a variety of settings
  • Flexible — Can be tailored to the needs of the person evaluated
  • Adaptable — Single parts of the assessment can be administed to evaluate an individual’s skills, like:
    1. Attitude
    2. Temperament
    3. Finger dexterity
    4. General learning ability
    5. Color discrimination
    6. Motor coordination
    7. Manual dexterity

Setting Vocational Goals

The assessment leads to a vocational goal by identifying and organizing the information needed to make a well-rounded vocational decision. Through a systematic process, people gain a better understanding of their preferences and potential as well as increased self-awareness of their skills. At Skills, the focus of the assessment phase of services is on the individual’s interests and abilities, not disabilities.