National Career Readiness
Certificate
In an effort to address the workforce challenges in
Southern Iowa, IowaWORKS, in a partnership with Union County Development
Association and Southwestern Community College, is implementing the
Career Readiness Certificate. The Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) is
an ACT WorkKeys* assessment-based credential that gives employers and
career seekers a uniform, standard, objective measure of key workplace
skills.
It is being
used by job seekers across the country as an employment credential, and
by employers as an assessment of a person’s readiness and trainability
for an entry- to mid-level job or for a promotion within the company.
Employers now have a clear, standardized tool to assess the skill level
of potential and current employees to assure job applicants actually
have the basic work skills they seek.
That means
choosing the right person for the job just got easier!
*WorkKeys
developed by ACT is a leading job skills assessment system that measures
“real world” foundational and personal skills that are critical to job
success. These skills are valuable for any occupation and at any level of
education. WorkKeys offers assessments and job analysis to identify skills
required for jobs and combined with KeyTrain can provide training to
correct and eliminate skill gaps.
For Job Seekers
Career
Readiness Certificate Benefits
-
Easily understood by employers, educators
and recipients
-
Designed to describe the skills and
abilities of a potential or current employee
-
Documents that the workforce is ready for
available jobs
-
Measures three important work-related areas:
applied mathematics, reading for information, and locating information
-
A portable stand-alone credential, but can
also be used in addition to a high school diploma, a GED or a college
degree
Career
Readiness Certificate Skill Levels
Individuals earn
one of three levels of Career Readiness Certificates based on their test
performance:
-
Bronze Level—signifies that a recipient
possesses skills for approximately 35% of jobs
-
Silver Level—signifies that a recipient
possesses skills for approximately 65% of jobs
-
Gold Level—signifies that a recipient
possesses skills for 90% of jobs
Where to Take
the Assessments
The NCRC
assessments can be arranged by contacting IowaWORKS, Southern Hills at 215
N. Elm, Creston, IA 50801 or by calling us at 641-782-2119 ext. 515.
For Employers
- Can Increase ROI
- Reduce turnover, overtime, and waste while increasing morale
-
Reduces losses due to unskilled workers
-
Improves productivity
-
Hiring and promotion—a CRC can be used as a “plus”
factor to help you make more informed selection and promotion decisions
-
Targeting employee training and development—save
money by using your training budget on employees with skills gaps
Endorsed by ABI—Association of Business and
Industry
