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Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA) is a competency model used to recruit and retain qualified individuals for successful job performance. Job vacancy announcements usually include specific KSA requirements.
KSAs are also known as the following:
Originally, U.S. government job applications required KSAs in the form of narrative statements, in addition to resumes and security clearances. Hiring officials expect brief and factual narratives describing previous work related to a desired position. Thus, KSA narrative formats facilitate thorough application review.
In 2009, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (USOPM) mandated that narrative statements be removed from all official federal agency recruiting processes. However, the KSA concept and format is still used by federal, state and local government, as well as private organizations.
KSA features, as defined by USOPM, include:
KSA classifications are segmented as follows:
Each government agency follows separate guidelines. Generally, each KSA section should be one-half to one-and-a-half pages in length. KSA scoring is from 0-100. Most agencies require a minimum score of 71.
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