This brief inventory measures nonspecific but essential skills related to workplace success across industries and job levels. In addition to a total score, the WSS provides a profile of relative strengths in six areas:

Communication

Adapting to Change

Problem Solving

Work Ethics

Technological Literacy

Teamwork

    These areas correspond to competencies identified as necessary work skills by the U.S. Department of Labor.

    The WSS consists of 48 multiple-choice items, many of which present a scenario describing a realistic workplace situation, problem, or issue, followed by a series of questions. Other items require examinees to interact with workplace materials, such as memos, forms, and charts. Written at a sixth-grade reading level, these items are presented in a reusable test booklet. Job applicants respond on a pull-apart answer sheet that automatically transfers their responses onto a scoring key. Stanines and T-scores are provided.

    Completed in about 20 minutes, the WSS can be used with any job applicant aged 16 or over. Its engaging item content addresses what most employers would view as “common sense.”