1. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 1 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 Amy Miller, Director of Services, Goodwill Industries, 616.532.4200 x 1155, amiller@goodwillgr.org Breaking Down Barriers Presentation, Revised: May 2, 2007 Bill Guest, WorkKeys Innovation Champion, 616.430.0828, bill.guest@metricsreporting.com Rachael Jungblut, WorkKeys Program Manager, GRCC, 616.234.3623, rjungblu@grcc.edu Liz Stegman, Program Administrator, (HELP Desk!), 616.234.3402, liz.stegman@metricsreporting.com A National Career Readiness Certificate System without Barriers

2. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 2 WMSA Region Allegan Barry Ionia Kent Muskegon Newaygo Ottawa

3. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 3 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.

4. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 4 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?

5. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 5 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? Why a Career Readiness Certificate?

6. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 6 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

7. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 7 The WorkKeys Measurement System Assess job requirements - Assess individual skill levels - Train to eliminate gaps

8. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 8 Career Readiness Certificate in Context Reading for Information Job Specific Training Occupational Training Applied Mathematics Locating Information WorkKeys Measures Foundational Skills

9. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 9 The Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) and Jobs WorkKeys Skill Levels: Bronze Silver Gold Reading for Information3 45 Applied Mathematics3 45 Locating Information 3 45 Job Readiness* 30% 65% 90% * 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.

10. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 10 From: www.careerreadinesscertificate.com, revised June 2006. CRC Deployed:CRC in Progress:Interested in CRC: Kentucky Indiana Virginia Louisiana Missouri North Carolina Oklahoma Alabama Tennessee New Mexico North Dakota South Carolina Wyoming District of Columbia West Virginia Iowa Nevada Washington Kansas Ohio Colorado Arizona Georgia Michigan California Delaware Maryland Rhode Island Illinois Montana Minnesota Oregon Idaho Mississippi Florida New York Alaska Nebraska Arkansas Vermont Utah New Jersey Pennsylvania 10 States 14 States 19 States

11. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 11 What Every Worker Must Know Reading for Information Applied Mathematics Locating Information MVC

12. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 12 How do we get every employer to use the same target?

13. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 13 Career Readiness Certificate Project Schedule 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. 3/1/065/1/0610/1/066/30/071/31/09 Local Success Stories

14. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 14 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 O*NET Job Zone (with help from your MichiganWorks! office): Bronze for O*NET Zone 1 Jobs Silver for O*NET Zone 2 Jobs Gold for O*NET 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.

15. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 15 How do we improve our workforce? Assess foundational skills Use WIN software Use KeyTrain software Provide learning coaches for support Use practice tests in WIN and KeyTrain Issue Career Readiness Certificates

16. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 16 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

17. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 17 Now, Discover Your Strengths Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton Gallup: Two Million Interviews Building a Strengths-based Organization Why an Extraordinary CRC?

18. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 18 Cognitively disabled workers bring valuable strengths to the job: Reliability Willingness to Learn Job Related Experience Communication and Social Skills Teamwork The Extraordinary CRC

19. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 19 The NCRC doesn’t document the skills that the cognitively disabled offer employers. Employers need a reliable indicator of the skill levels of all potential employees. The U.S. Employment Rate with Disabilities is 37.4% (American Community Survey 2005) The Extraordinary CRC

20. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 20 Reliability: Do you get to work on time and work your scheduled hours? Do you take pride in your work? Do you finish your work on time? Can you perform the basic job functions and work the employer’s schedule? Source: Goodwill Industries, Grand Rapids, MI Important Strengths for Job Success

21. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 21 Willingness to Learn: Can you follow directions? Can you admit your mistakes and accept criticism to help you improve your skills? Can you be flexible and learn new tasks? Source: Goodwill Industries, Grand Rapids, MI Important Strengths for Job Success

22. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 22 Job Related Experience: Do you have job related experience through volunteer work, hobbies or other life experience? Source: Goodwill Industries, Grand Rapids, MI Important Strengths for Job Success

23. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 23 Communication and Social Skills: Are you positive and friendly toward co-workers? Do you treat your co-workers and supervisor with respect? Can you talk with your supervisor about problems that affect your job performance? Are you courteous and helpful to customers? Source: Goodwill Industries, Grand Rapids, MI Important Strengths for Job Success

24. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 24 Teamwork: Can you work cooperatively with a variety of people? Can you set and meet performance goals? Are you helpful to co-workers? Source: Goodwill Industries, Grand Rapids, MI Important Strengths for Job Success

25. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 25 Be prepared for these key questions: What are your strongest job skills? When have you used these skills at or outside work? When have you worked with customers? Give an example of a customer service problem you helped resolve. What do you know about our company? How is this job and work environment a good fit for you? Source: Goodwill Industries, Grand Rapids, MI Tips for Interview Success

26. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 26 Some excellent target occupations: Hospitality Retail Janitorial Healthcare Others Why a Career Readiness Certificate?

27. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 27 Our National Conversation and Actions: Connect with others at this conference. Share plans and results of projects. Identify a small team to present at next year’s conference to move this issue forward. Next Steps:

28. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 28 West Michigan Plans for 2007: Contract with a tri-county team to facilitate an agreement regarding key employer needs for the seven-county West Michigan area. Propose a definition for “Qualified Candidates” for those with cognitive disabilities. Evaluate assessment methods to determine effectiveness for indicating performance. Recommend a West Michigan Extraordinary CRC as a compliment to the ACT NCRC. Next Steps:

29. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 29 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).

30. Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Slide 30 Questions & Discussion www.michigancrc.org