Charting a Course: Responding to the Industry-Related
Adult Basic Education Needs of the Texas Workforce
Handbook One: Planning and Implementation Tips
for Program Planners and Administrators

Module Two: Marketing Adult Education Services as Workforce Solutions

Gap Analysis of Workplace Needs

This template can be used during the language task analysis and the curriculum planning stages to identify gaps in incumbent workers’ skills and knowledge. The organizing principal of this particular template is Pennsylvania’s Workplace Foundation Skills Framework (see wheel). In conducting a language task analysis, the template may help identify the language skills and knowledge needed to successfully complete job tasks versus workers’ current levels of skills and knowledge.  It can then be used to develop objectives for proposed services.

Data can be collected during the task analysis by observing the workplace, interviewing key stakeholders (e.g. employees, managers, frontline supervisors, customers, etc.), and studying key documents (e.g. job descriptions, policy manuals, performance appraisals, reports).

As gaps in work-related skills and knowledge are identified, adult educators can collaborate with a partner to assign priorities to these gaps and then explore solutions to address them.  Source:  www.work-basedlearning.org/toolkit.cfm (2006)