In 1993, Washington's state legislature created the Commission on Student Learning to identify essential academic learning requirements related to four goals. One of those goals was to understand the importance of work and how performance, effort, and decisions directly affect career and educational opportunities. As in other states, the development of industry skill standards in Washington has proceeded on a separate track from the creation of academic standards. In 1995, Washington's governor adopted a work plan that gave the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges responsibility for developing skill standards. To date, the board has facilitated the development of skill standards in the information technology sector and initiated standard-setting projects in 15 industry areas. Efforts to develop career development standards for Washington have proceeded with consideration for national efforts (including the work done by the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills) and efforts in other states. Washington's Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board has identified a total of 33 components in the following categories as the career development standards preferred by employers in high-performance workplaces: career preparation; personal responsibility; technology; interpersonal; information; systems; and resources. (MN)