Skills Canada Launches ‘Essential Skills’ iOS App for Students and Teachers

Skills Canada is a non-profit organization funded by the Government of Canada to promote skilled trades and technologies to youth, an approach which now has an iPhone and iPad app to do just that.

The Essential Skills mobile app is part of the Essential Skills Program and looks to promote the nine essential skills that are necessary for careers in the trades and technologies, as identified by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC): numeracy, oral communications, working with others, continuous learning, reading text, writing, thinking, document use and digital skills.

The app contains the following features, which can help youth determine what kind of career they may be interested in joining:

• Profiles of over 40 different trade and technology careers.
• Summary of the nine Essential Skills.
• A comprehensive set of questions to help rate proficiency in the nine essential skills. Results are provided as a star rating along with information on careers in trade and technology that are best suited to strengths.
• Social Media tools for sharing and comparing results with friends, classmates, teachers and counsellors. Students can repeat the test to track their progress and monitor how their essential skill rating improves. Teachers can use the App in classroom applications to highlight the importance of the essential skills to trade and technology careers.
• A link to ESDC Office of Literacy and Essential skills with access to all the National Occupational Profiles.
• A library of trade and technology training facilities in Canada

Click here to download the Skills Canada iOS app from the App Store.