Where Do I Start?
Step 1 - BYU Skills Matrix
In 2009, faculty at Brigham Young University completed a three-year effort to develop a competency matrix for their students enrolled in Landscape Management. A Competency Matrix allows students to identify knowledge and skills that are relevant to a particular field, and self-assess their progress toward expertise in these targeted areas. The goal was to include the knowledge, skills and abilities of value to Green Industry employers. This matrix was is so useful that the National Association of Landscape Professionals, formerly PLANET, took the matrix and adapted it for the entire nation's landscape community.
Aims of that competency matrix included:
- Direct students in selection of classes, participation in extracurricular activities, work experiences and internships that would maximize their worth to employers upon graduation.
- Provide a tool for increasing the value of internship experiences (i.e., by providing students with a knowledgeable basis upon which to negotiate for specific experiences that would produce the additional skills they need).
- Allow students to more effectively market their knowledge and experience.
- Provide a basis for more meaningful counseling with a student’s faculty adviser.
Download the Matrix here.
