Six New Ways to Test Essential Skills

TOWES continues to expand our innovative line of Essential Skills assessments.  Six new versions of TOWES will be released in 2009 to complement our existing General Series and Sector Series assessments.

TOWES for Health Care Professionals – Available Now!
TOWES for Health Care Professionals assesses the common set of skills needed by Licensed Practical Nurses, Care Attendants, Medical, Dental and Laboratory Technicians.  Recently, these occupations rely more heavily on immigrants, young people and older workers to fill critical staffing shortages.  TOWES for Health Care Professionals will assist employers and trainers to prepare individuals for the challenges of training, work and the certification process. 

TOWES Aerospace – Available Now!
The Manitoba Aerospace Human Resources Coordinating Committee has generously partnered with TOWES to grant access to their custom designed Aerospace assessment.  TOWES Aerospace assesses reading text, document use and numeracy skills needed for safe and productive employment in aviation service, maintenance, and assembly occupations.

TOWES Entrance to Apprenticeship – Available Now!
Anyone who works with apprentices knows that completing technical training is challenging.  Nationally, demand for certified trades people is high, while training providers struggle to graduate enough apprentices to meet market demand.  Part of the problem stems from a lack of Essential Skills that provide a crucial foundation for successfully managing the complex requirements of training.  Research clearly shows that apprentices with skills at level 3 or higher are much more likely to complete technical training.  The new TOWES Entrance into Apprenticeship assessment will help instructors identify students who are at risk for completing training due to low levels of Essential Skills.  As one user of the assessment states, “I finally figured out why my students weren’t getting it!  Several of my students would not have passed if I had not worked specifically on their skill gaps.”

TOWES Oral Communication, Writing, Problem Solving – Available Summer 2009!
TOWES has received funding from the Alberta Association of Colleges and Technical Institutes (AACTI) to create assessments for Oral Communication, Writing and Problem Solving.  Like other versions of TOWES, the new tools will use authentic workplace documents and scenarios to assess other Essential Skills which are critical to labour market success.  The assessments will be benchmarked to national occupational standards and will report results in relation to Human Resources and Social Development Canada’s Essential Skills Occupational Profiles. 

For more information or to purchase assessments please contact your local distributor or TOWES at 403.410.3200 or towes@bowvalleycollege.ca.