1. The National Career Readiness Certificate
West Michigan Strategic Alliance
Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Initiative
Funded by the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor
The National Career Readiness Certificate
(Powered by WorkKeys®)
Greg Northrup, President, West Michigan Strategic Alliance
Phil Rios, Project Manager, WIRED West Michigan,
The ACT National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) Presentation, Revised: January 15, 2008
Bill Guest, WorkKeys Innovation Champion, ,
Rachael Jungblut, WorkKeys Program Manager, GRCC, ,
Liz Stegman, Program Administrator, ,

2. The NCRC Value Equation
Need – Definition of “qualified candidate” for 21st Century work.
Approach – Use the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate.
Benefits - The NCRC is proven to be aligned to employer needs and proven to be valid, reliable, and cost effective.
Competitive position – Job alignment tools & DOL ETA approved tests.

3. West Michigan

4. WMSA Region
Allegan
Barry
Ionia
Kent
Muskegon
Newaygo
Ottawa

5. M-MIT Region Lapeer Livingston Bay Midland Clinton Saginaw Eaton
Sanilac
Shiawasee
Tuscola
Bay
Clinton
Eaton
Genesee
Huron
Ingham

6. What is our common language?
Employers say “New hires need more math.”
Educators ask “How much more?”
Employers say “We need better reading skills.”
Educators ask “How much better?”
We all know these can be endless discussions.
This communication problem extends throughout the entire Workforce Development System.

7. Why a Career Readiness Certificate? We need a trusted common language.
What do we mean by Qualified Candidates?
New hires
Promotions and internal moves
Career development programs
Occupational training
Job specific training
How do we measure qualifications?

8. WorkKeys is a measurement tool.
WorkKeys quantifies skills in the following categories:
Applied Mathematics
Applied Technology
Business Writing
Listening
Locating Information
Observation
Reading for Information
Teamwork
Writing

9. The WorkKeys Measurement System
Assess job requirements - Assess individual skill levels - Train to eliminate gaps

10. Career Readiness Certificate in Context
Job Specific Training
Occupational Training
Reading for
Information
Applied
Mathematics
Locating
Information
WorkKeys Measures Foundational Skills

11. The Career Readiness Certificate and Jobs
WorkKeys Skill Levels: Bronze Silver Gold
Reading for Information
Applied Mathematics
Locating Information
Job Readiness* % % %
* Job Readiness indicates the % of jobs in the occupational
database that holders of these certificates are qualified to apply for.
The CRC is
a credential.

12. Reading for Information
MVC
What Every Worker
Must Know
Reading for Information
Applied Mathematics
Locating Information

13. RI 3 Simple clear text

14. RI 4 Policies & procedures

15. RI 5 Details & jargon

16. AM 3 Cash register math

17. AM 4 Calculate an average

18. AM 5 Lowest phone bill

19. LI 3 Read a gauge

20. LI 4 Read a laundry slip

21. LI 5 Read bar graph

22. The NCRC WorkKeys Core Assessments
Harder than it looks:
Timed
Proctored
Many experience test anxiety

23. A Common Skills Currency
The headline font is Tahoma Bold 32pt.
The body copy is Arial 14pt. with line spacing of 1.5

24. How do we get every employer to use the same target?

25. “Employers work to make things: predictable, uniform, and certain
“Employers work to make things: predictable, uniform, and certain. Predictability, uniformity, and certainty are universal goals of executives. The NCRC does this for the hiring process.” Mac MacIlroy, President MMA

26. West Michigan

27. How do we improve our workforce?
Assess foundational skills
Use KeyTrain software
Provide learning coaches for support
Use practice tests in KeyTrain
Issue Career Readiness Certificates

28. Career Readiness Certificate Steps
Goals
The Learner’s
Perspective
Steps to
Success
Job Specific Training
Occupational Training
Locating Information
Applied Mathematics
Reading for Information

29. Michigan Merit Examination (MME) Summary Table
* The new Michigan Merit Examination will be utilized in all Michigan Schools beginning the Spring of 2007

30. Education and Training Pay
Unemployment Rate in Median Weekly Earnings in 2003
2.9%
$1,064
Master Degree
Bachelor Degree
Associate Degree
Some College
High School Diploma
Some High School
NOTES: Unemployment and earnings for workers 25 and older, by educational attainment; earnings for full-time wage and salary workers
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
3.3%
$900
4.0%
$672
5.2%
$622
5.5%
$554
8.8%
$396

31. DRAFT Combined Score Qty. of Profiles
Notes: $23,000 at “9” and $50,000 at “15” results in a gain of $4500 per point. Data is based on RI, AM, and LI scores from the ACT Occupational Database (with 5 or more Profiles) and Median income data from the O*NET. Example: 3, 3, 3 = 9; 5, 5, 5 = 15; etc.

32. Example Occupations for CRC HoldersB R O N Z E S I L V E R G O L D

33. 16% None, 17% Bronze, 43% Silver, 24% Gold
Today we live in a world of networked automation. We need technicians capable of running it.
Unskilled
work with
hands
Skilled
head & hands
“technicians”
Professionals
head
16% None, 17% Bronze, 43% Silver, 24% Gold

34. Transitional Workforce
Supply
Demand
Emerging Workforce
(K-12 and Colleges)
Transitional Workforce
(MWAs and Agencies)
Employers
(Chambers & EAs)
Incumbent Workforce
(Employers)

35. Employer Demand – Market Channel Partners
High Schools (K-12 System)
Colleges and Universities
Michigan Works Agencies (MWAs)
Private Employment Agencies
Chambers of Commerce
Economic Development Agencies
Employers Associations
Literacy and Adult Education Organizations
State Agencies and Partners
National Agencies and Partners

36. Employer Letter of Commitment
Basic Commitments:
□ We will ask job applicants “Do you have a Career Readiness Certificate?”
□ We will recognize the Career Readiness Certificate in hiring, promotion, and employee development practices for selected positions.
□ We give WIRED West Michigan permission to use our name in public awareness efforts to promote the Career Readiness Certificate.
Extraordinary commitments:
□ We will include Career Readiness Certificate preparation programs in our tuition refund plan and/or provide assistance and an incentive for our employees.
□ We will provide special treatment for individuals with Career Readiness Certificates, such as, taking five minutes to warmly greet them when they fill out an application.
□ We will provide financial support for a promotion campaign, such as, a billboard or advertisement.
□ We will promote this program with our supply chain and recognize those suppliers that make this commitment to employee development.
□ We will test and certify ______ % employees. We employ _______ employees.
□ We will track and report data for purposes of statistical summaries for our region.
□ We will join and utilize the ACT Job and Talent Bank.

37. West Michigan Long-term Goals (2007-2012)
1. Gain and document 500 employer commitments with a signed Letter of Commitment (LOC) by December 2008.
2. Gain commitment of all high schools in West Michigan to add Locating Information to the MME and offer ACT National Career Readiness Certificates to all students. This is 10,000 to 15,000 certificates per year.
3. Gain commitment of our six regional Michigan Works! agencies to utilize WorkKeys and the Career Readiness Certificate as a means of defining “qualified applicants” for all job placements in West Michigan.
4. Issue 50,000 Career Readiness Certificates to incumbent and displaced workers by 2012.
5. Participate in and support the state-wide movement led by the Michigan Career Readiness Certificate Advocates (MiCRCA).

38. The NCRC Value Equation
We need a common definition for “qualified candidate,” someone ready for work in the 21st Century (brains vs. brawn). We have a shortage of skilled workers and a surplus of unskilled workers. We need to “skill up” our workforce to provide the quality of workers employers need.
Our approach is to use the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate as the cornerstone of our regional definition of a qualified candidate. Employers drive demand, schools & workforce agencies train workers.
The benefits to this approach are that the NCRC is a based on WorkKeys a product of ACT proven to be aligned to employer needs and proven to be valid, reliable, and cost effective. Reading, math, and locating information are the top skills needed in 85% of jobs.
The ACT NCRC is superior to competitive approaches and alternatives because it is the only solution that: 1) provides tools to measure the needs of specific jobs, AND, 2) is approved for government agencies as a valid and reliable skills assessment (employer-gov. intersection).

39. “We” vs. “They”
Questions
&
Discussion

40. Career Readiness Certificate & WorkKeys Partners
Michigan:
ACT National:
CRC Consortium:
ACT WorkKeys,
Steve Anderson, ,
John Nelson, ,
KeyTrain,
Rick Harris, ,
Justin Saylor, ,
The Council for Adult & Experiential Learning (CAEL),
Pam Tate, President, ,
Joel Simon, Consultant, ,