The National Career Readiness Certificate (Powered by

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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 www.wm-alliance.org, 616.356.6060 Phil
Rios, Project Manager, WIRED West Michigan,
www.wiredwestmi.org, 616.331.6968
The ACT National Career Readiness Certificate
(NCRC) Presentation, Revised November 29,
2007 Bill Guest, WorkKeys Innovation Champion,
616.430.0828, bill.guest_at_metricsreporting.com Rach
ael Jungblut, WorkKeys Program Manager, GRCC,
616.234.3623, rjungblu_at_grcc.edu Liz Stegman,
Program Administrator, 616.234.3471,
lstegman_at_grcc.edu
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West Michigan
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WMSA Region

• Allegan
• Barry
• Ionia
• Kent
• Muskegon
• Newaygo
• Ottawa

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M-MIT Region

• Lapeer
• Livingston
• Midland
• Saginaw
• Sanilac
• Shiawasee
• Tuscola

• Bay
• Clinton
• Eaton
• Genesee
• Huron
• Ingham

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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.
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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?

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Why a Career Readiness Certificate?

• Do you have Qualified Candidates?
• How successful are training classes?
• Are all employees prepared for audits?
• Are team leaders helping weak employees too
  much?
• Are data entry errors hurting the information
  system?
• Having trouble with hiring, promoting, or
  training?
• Again, how do we measure qualifications?

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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

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The WorkKeys Measurement System
Assess job requirements - Assess individual
skill levels - Train to eliminate gaps
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Career Readiness Certificate in Context
Job Specific Training
Occupational Training
Reading for Information
Applied Mathematics
Locating Information
WorkKeys Measures Foundational Skills
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The Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) and Jobs
WorkKeys Skill Levels Bronze Silver
Gold Reading for Information 3
4 5 Applied Mathematics 3 4 5 Locating
Information 3 4 5 Job Readiness
30 65 90 Job Readiness
indicates the of jobs in the occupational databa
se that holders of these certificates are
qualified to apply for.
The CRC is a credential.
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10 States
14 States 19 States
From www.careerreadinesscertificate.com,
revised June 2006.
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MVC
What Every Worker Must Know
Reading for Information
Applied Mathematics
Locating Information
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A Common Skills Currency
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How do we get every employer to use the same
target?
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Career Readiness Certificate Project Schedule
3/1/06
5/1/06
10/1/06
6/30/07
1/31/09
Local Success Stories
CONCEPT DEFINITION Concept development of the
Career Readiness Certificate target and the focus
on employer demand.
BUSINESS PLANNING National Best Practices
identified and implemented. Prototype planned,
organized and launched. Performance metrics
defined.
TESTING AND PROTOTYPE County teams work with
selected employers to test the effectiveness of
WorkKeys and the CRC to improve the
Workforce. Plan WBL.
PRODUCTION AND LAUNCH Broad based launch of
WorkKeys and the CRC in West Michigan. Launch of
Work-based Learning.
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Career Readiness Certificate Employer Options

• Three Levels of Employer Engagement
• Entry Level Engagement Require CRCs based on
• ACT Occupational Database (WorkKeys Consultant
  can help), or
• ONET Job Zone (with help from your
  MichiganWorks! office)
• Bronze for ONET Zone 1 Jobs
• Silver for ONET Zone 2 Jobs
• Gold for ONET Zone 3 Jobs (and above)
• Active Engagement Require CRCs for hiring and
  advancement based on job assessment tools such
  as Profile, SkillMap, or Estimator.
• Power User Require CRCs for key jobs and use
  WorkKeys as an integral human resources and
  employee training and development tool.

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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

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Prototype Teams

• County Teams
• Allegan
• Barry
• Ionia
• Kent
• Muskegon
• Newaygo
• Ottawa
• Special Teams
• Healthcare RSA and HFC
• Ex-offender Re-entry
• The SOURCE
• Special Needs Population
• GED
• Inner-city

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Career Readiness Certificate Steps
Goals
The Learners Perspective Steps to Success
Job Specific Training
Occupational Training
Locating Information
Applied Mathematics
Reading for Information
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Michigan Merit Examination (MME) Summary Table
The new Michigan Merit Examination will be
utilized in all Michigan Schools beginning the
Spring of 2007
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Education and Training Pay
Unemployment Rate in 2003 Median
Weekly Earnings in 2003
1,064
2.9
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
900
3.3
672
4.0
622
5.2
554
5.5
396
8.8
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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 ONET. Example 3, 3, 3 9
5, 5, 5 15 etc.
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Example Occupations for CRC Holders
B R O N Z E
S I L V E R
G O L D
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16 None, 17 Bronze, 43 Silver, 24 Gold
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Demand
Supply
Emerging Workforce (K-12 and Colleges)
Transitional Workforce (MWAs and Agencies)
Employers (Chambers EAs)
Incumbent Workforce (Employers)
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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

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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.
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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).
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We vs. They
Questions Discussion
www.michigancrc.org
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Career Readiness Certificate WorkKeys Partners

• Career Readiness Certificate
• Michigan www.michigancrc.org
• ACT National www.careerreadinesscertificate.org
• CRC Consortium www.crcconsortium.org
• ACT WorkKeys, www.act.org/workkeys
• Steve Anderson, 563.391.3742, steve.anderson_at_act.o
  rg
• John Nelson, 319.321.9705, john.nelson_at_act.org
• KeyTrain, www.keytrain.com
• Rick Harris, 888.480.4883, rick_at_keytrain.com
• Justin Saylor, 877.842.6205, justin.saylor_at_keytrai
  n.com
• The Council for Adult Experiential Learning
  (CAEL), www.cael.org
• Pam Tate, President, 312.499.2680, ptate_at_cael.org
• Joel Simon, Consultant, 312.499.2678,
  jsimon_at_cael.org