The Employability Skills Framework is a tool that was developed to help educators—career and technical, K–12, workplace, and adult education—incorporate employability skills into instruction.

The Employability Skills Framework identifies nine general skills necessary for success in the labor market at all employment levels and all sectors. These nine skills are sorted into three broad categories—applied knowledge, effective relationships, and workplace skills—all of which overlap substantially with the workforce preparation activities delineated in WIOA.