The National Skill Standards Board was a coalition of community, business, labor, education, and civil rights leaders. It was tasked with building a national voluntary system of skill standards, assessment, and certification to enhance the ability of the United States workforce to compete effectively in the global economy.NSSB gathered research on the creation of skill requirements, skill assessments, and certification processes. The board developed research protocols for validating skills across an entire Industry, the development of quality criteria for all elements of that system, and the designs for a continuous improvement strategy.