National Career Readiness Certificate
Wisconsin Job Service
September, 2010
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National Career Readiness Certificate
(NCRC)
 NCRC Review
 Changes in Program Rollout
 Employer Outreach
WorkKeys and the National Career Readiness Certificate are registered trademarks of ACT, Inc.
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What is the National Career Readiness
Certificate?
 A portable credential that documents and certifies an
individual’s ability level to learn / perform occupation specific skills.
 A valuable complement to a job seeker’s portfolio of traditional
credentials.
 Promoting a common language for employers, individuals, educators to
address skill gaps.
 Integrating workforce initiatives at the state, regional, national levels.
WorkKeys and the National Career Readiness Certificate are registered trademarks of ACT, Inc.
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Percentage of Young-Adults Degree
Attainment (ages 25-34)
54
Canada (55%)
Japan (54%)
Korea (53%)
52
Massachusetts
50
48
Minnesota
North Dakota
46
44
New Zealand (44%)
Connecticut, Colorado, New York
New Jersey, Vermont, New Hampshire
Maryland, Nebraska, Illinois
Virginia, Iowa
Rhode Island, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Washington
Pennsylvania, Kansas, Delaware
Hawaii
42
Belgium, Ireland, Norway (42%)
Denmark, France (41%)
United States, Australia, Spain, Sweden (39%)
Finland (38%)
U.K. (37%)
Netherlands (36%)
Utah, Montana
Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia
Ohio, Missouri, Oregon, Wyoming, California, Florida, Maine
Indiana
Idaho, South Carolina, Arizona
Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Alaska
Oklahoma
Kentucky, New Mexico
Mississippi, Louisiana
West Virginia, Arkansas
Nevada
34
40
38
36
32
Switzerland (32%)
30
28
Poland (28%)
Greece (27%)
26
24
22
20
Germany (22%)
Mexico (19%)
Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Education at a Glance 2008, CRC 4
Advocates from the ACT Workforce 2010 Conference
Source: CRC Advocates from the ACT Workforce 2010 Conference
Business Writing 382
Listening 814
Writing 996
Applied Technology
1,058
Teamwork 2,170
(Workplace)
Observation (69.6%)
4,008
Applied Mathematics
(74.6%) 4298
Reading for Information
(80.5%) 4637
Locating Information
(84.9%) 4892
Essential Skills
Based on Analysis of 5,760 Jobs (September 2003 to August 2008)
NCRC
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How the NCRC Relates to Traditional
Training
Job
Specific
Training
Occupational Training
Applied
Mathematics
Reading for
Information
Locating
Information
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WorkKeys and the National Career Readiness Certificate are registered trademarks of ACT, Inc.
Components of the System
 Assessments / WorkKeys / NCRC
 Based on existing job profiles.
 What work skills and skill levels does the individual possess?
 Utilize for targeting recruitment efforts and training decisions.
 Job Analysis
 For select, interested employers, a trained job profiler can analyze a specific job.
 The profile will identify the skills and skill levels necessary.
 The profile will further refine the ACT database AND may allow for the employer
to require an NCRC at a specific level.
 Training / Curriculum
 If interested, employers can use the WorkKeys results to develop training
curricula specifically targeted to identified skill gaps.
 If applicable, the workforce system can align training dollars around identified
skill gaps.
WorkKeys and the National Career Readiness Certificate are registered trademarks of ACT, Inc.
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Four NCRC Certificate Levels
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WorkKeys and the National Career Readiness Certificate are registered trademarks of ACT, Inc.
Wisconsin Job Service and
Implementation
Tiered Implementation Plan
 October 2009: Re-employment Services (RES)
 February 2010: All Unemployment Insurance (UI)
 April 2010: Re-employment Eligibility Assessments (REA)
 May 2010: Veterans Program
 June 2010: Milwaukee / SE WIRED Initiative
 September 2010: General Public
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NCRC on JobCenterofWisconsin.com
Job Seeker
Homepage
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NCRC on JobCenterofWisconsin.com
Employer
Homepage
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KeyTrain
WorkKeys®
NCRC
 KeyTrain = This tool helps customers prepare for WorkKeys and can
also help customers identify where their skill gaps exist.
 WorkKeys = These assessments measure an individual’s skill levels in
Mathematics, Reading for Information and Locating Information.
 NCRC = The National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) is a
nationally recognized, transferrable work readiness credential.
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WorkKeys and the National Career Readiness Certificate are registered trademarks of ACT, Inc.
KeyTrain and WorkKeys
October 1, 2009 through August 27, 2010:
 KeyTrain:
 Over 24,000 customers enrolled
 Over 13,000 pretests and over 5,000 lessons
 WorkKeys (Statewide)
 2,065 WorkKeys Assessments (3/person)
 599 NCRC’s earned
32 Bronze
244 Silver
292 Gold
31 Platinum
WorkKeys and the National Career Readiness Certificate are registered trademarks of ACT, Inc.
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NCRC Partners
 Partner models:





Southeast WI (M-7): WIRED Grant
MOU’s pending with multiple WDA’s (1, 2, 4, 6)
WIA Title I
Other Job Center Partners: Vets, DVR, W-2
Other state agencies: DOC & DPI
WorkKeys and the National Career Readiness Certificate are registered trademarks of ACT, Inc.
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Employer Outreach Efforts
 Employer Marketing Initiative / Materials
 JobCenterofWisconsin.com
 Job Center Business Service Teams
 Presentations
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Sign Me Up!
 Letter of Commitment
 Champion Employer
 Recruitment Efforts: NCRC preferred
 Incumbent Worker Testing
 Promotion Assistance: Add company name to list of supporting
employers.
 Job Profiling / Analysis
WorkKeys and the National Career Readiness Certificate are registered trademarks of ACT, Inc.
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Current Letters of Commitment
 Johnsonville Sausage, LLC
 Labor Solutions
 Universal Recycling Technologies
 Genencor, a Danisco Division
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The NCRC Letter of Commitment
Letter of Commitment
Need your support
WorkKeys and the National Career Readiness Certificate are registered trademarks of ACT, Inc.
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Employer Testing
 Johnsonville Sausage, LLC
 Sonoco
 Brillion
 Universal Recycling Technologies
 Vollrath (testing to begin soon)
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How can employers support and
implement the NCRC?
 Recruiting New Employees
 Ask applicants if they have their NCRC.
 Include the NCRC in your job ads: “Preferred” vs. “Required.”
 Test selected applicants.
 Track your results, and please share them!
 Testing Incumbent Workforce
 Select, and test, a targeted group of employees.
 Compare individual and group scores job profile.
 Adjust / develop training curriculum to address specific deficiencies.
WorkKeys and the National Career Readiness Certificate are registered trademarks of ACT, Inc.
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Thank You!
Any questions?
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