What is PluggedIn VA?
The PluggedIn VA is a curriculum framework that seeks to provide motivated adult learners with a contextualized General Educational Development (GED) program integrated with technical training as a means to develop essential workplace skills for entry-level jobs in targeted industries. Central to the PluggedIn VA curriculum is the development of digital literacy skills, 21st century skills, and professional soft skills to prepare learners for employment in a variety of contexts as they complete their GED credential and Career Readiness Certificate (CRC). This program has a flexible design in order to meet the unique needs of individual learners at varying skill levels.
The program is approximately six months in duration and is broken into two distinct phases (approximately three months each) with four core content areas:
- GED Curriculum and Career Readiness Certificate
- Professional Soft Skills
- Contextualized Curriculum (e.g. Digital Literacy Skills, Allied Health, Mining)
- 21st Century Skills
Why do we need a new adult education curriculum?
There is a sense of urgency in the field of adult and continuing education to better prepare adults for success in post secondary education and employment. Proficiency in reading, writing, and arithmetic, which has been the traditional entry-level threshold to the job market, is no longer enough to meet the current needs of our global workforce. A high school diploma or GED credential is no longer enough to prepare adults for 21st century success. The results of a recent survey by the American Management Association (AMA) and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills highlight the changing needs of today's employers:
As the U.S. economy begins to show signs of improvement, executives say they need a workforce fully equipped with skills beyond just the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic (the three Rs) in order to grow their businesses. Skills such as critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation (the four Cs) will become even more important to organizations in the future, according the new survey.
Virginia is taking steps to provide our adult students with the four Cs using the PluggedIn VA model. For more about the PluggedIn VA curriculum framework, click Curriculum
To read about the history of the project, including the results of the pilot program evaluation, click History.
