By Ronny J. Coleman
KSA is an acronym for Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. Another acronym is JPR, for Job Performance Requirement. At a practical level, both are a list of special qualifications and personal attributes that you need to achieve promotion. Basically, these are the unique requirements that the hiring agency wants to find in the person selected to fill a particular job. In your case, you have to understand the concepts to be adequately prepared to compete.
A primary purpose of KSAs is to measure those qualities that will set one candidate apart from the others. A primary purpose of a JPR is to measure the candidate’s ability to perform the required tasks. JPRs are found within the National Fire Protection Association standard setting process, whereas KSAs are most often found in the qualifications process for promotion. In human resource policy and practice, KSAs are defined as the factors that identify the better candidates from a group of persons basically qualified for a position. How well an applicant can show that he or she matches the position’s defined KSAs determines whether that person will be seriously considered for the job. The concept of the KSA is made up of three components, including the following:
Knowledge statements refer to an organized body of information, usually of a factual or procedural nature, which, if applied, makes adequate performance on the job possible. It is a body of information applied directly to the performance of a function.
Skill statements refer to the proficient manual, verbal, or mental manipulation of data or things. Skills can be readily measured by a performance test where quantity and quality of performance are tested, usually within an established time limit. Examples of proficient manipulation of things are skill in operating a vehicle or performing a physical task to meet a minimum standard.
Ability statements refer to the power to perform an observable activity now. This means that abilities have been evidenced through activities or behaviors that are like those required on the job (i.e., ability to plan and organize work). Abilities are different from aptitudes. Aptitudes are only the potential for performing the activity; abilities can be demonstrated.
Agencies may emphasize the most important aspects of a job by assigning relative weights to each KSA. Others will designate particular KSAs as being mandatory (M) or desirable (D). As a job applicant, you will want to focus most of your effort on responding to the more heavily weighted KSAs or the mandatory ones, but it is important to remember that you need to address every one of the items on the list. If a vacancy announcement makes no distinction among the position’s KSA, the applicant should assume that all KSAs are equally important and mandatory.
A key point to remember about all KSAs is that they must be job related. An agency cannot ask for anything in a KSA that is not in the job’s position description.
KSAs are used to distinguish the “qualifying candidates” from the “unqualified candidates” for a specific position. Human resources should list the KSAs in terms of “specialized experience.” You must be prepared to demonstrate the possession of each KSA to see if you qualify for a position. Read the vacancy announcement very carefully to ensure that your experience is relevant for each selected factor requirement. One should be very careful to make sure that your application for a job covers all the KSAs. As the applicant, it is your responsibility to show how your education and experience meet the requirements for the position.
On the other hand, JPRs focus more on the job to be done. A job is a combination of duties and tasks that an individual performs, and there are several jobs within any occupational field. For this article, we are talking specifically about a firefighter, fire officer, chief officer, fire investigator, public educator, emergency medical technician, hazardous materials technician, and confined space technician.
Human resources programs often use KSAs and JPRs as a means of discriminating between the performance level of individual candidates. It is your responsibility to understand these distinctions and to compare your experience in the training and educational world to the world of competition. Thoroughly understanding both concepts allows you to build the more responsive candidacy as an individual.
