1. South Carolina College & Career Readiness Workshop
Mary Molusky, State Program Manager

2. Goals for Session What’s happening in South Carolina State Contact
Available Products/Services
Involvement

3. Partnership Department of Education SC Technical Colleges
Adult Education
Department of Employment & Workforce
Vocational Rehabilitation
SC Manufacturers Alliance
Governor’s Office

4. Certified Work Ready Communities
The Vision
Building a framework for linking education and workforce development together and aligning to economic development at the state and community level
The mission
To mobilize a common vision to LINK, ALIGN and MATCH (state’s) workforce for economic growth and competitiveness
Key Components
Individuals earning a National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC)
High school graduation rates
Businesses engaged

5. Workreadycommunities.org

7. What’s Available
WorkKeys
Career Ready 101
NCRC
Profiles

8. WorkKeys Testing Sites
Technical Colleges
High Schools/CTE Centers
SC Works
Adult Education

9. Assessments Assess Your Workforce
WorkKeys assessments measure “real world” workplace skills critical to job success. These skills are valuable for any occupation—skilled or professional—at any level of education, and in any industry.
Approximately 15 million WorkKeys assessments have been administered.

10. Assessments Reading for Information Applied Mathematics
Locating Information
Talent
At designated testing sites. Limited talent assessments. Encourage WKIV. Can’t be resold. WKIV training/Batch Load training is available.

11. Training & Curriculum Develop Your Workforce
Career Ready 101® is an integrated approach to exploring careers and the skills they require, and developing skills in such areas as resume preparation, interviewing, and financial literacy. It promotes self- paced learning via a career portal and includes the full KeyTrain curriculum.
Encourage attending webinar. Stress having one or two people as administrators of CR Encourage school to import all students to set up student accounts – rather than having each teacher do this.

12. Career Ready 101 Curriculum Includes KeyTrain Online
Any city, county or state agency

13. Training & Curriculum Develop Your Workforce
CR 101 includes KT and much more!

14. Webinars http://support.keytrain.com/support/training.asp
Career Ready 101 Training
Webinars
Schedule changes monthly.

15. National Career Readiness Certificate
Three WorkKeys assessments
Applied mathematics
Reading for information
Locating information
Issue Certificate based on lowest level earned
Certificate
WorkKeys Scores
Platinum
6s and above
An NCRC verifies an employee has the essential core employability skills that are critical for success in your organization.
ACT WorkKeys and the National Career Readiness Certificate are endorsed by the National Association of Manufacturers
Gold
5s and above
Silver
4s and above
Bronze
3s and above 15

16. ACE and the NCRC
The American Council of Education has recommended the National Career Readiness Certificate for college credit:
For a silver level NCRC achievement ACE recommends 3 semester hours in applied critical thinking for vocational certificate programs.
For a gold or platinum NCRC achievement ACE recommends 3 semester hours in applied critical thinking for lower-division baccalaureate or associate degree programs.

17. Job profiles
A job analysis tool developed by ACT that helps employers understand what skills are required for a specific position
Profiling sessions rely on job incumbents as subject matter experts (SMEs)
A final report to management contains complete task analysis information and skill recommendations
SC has been a leader in job profiles. Companies supporting WK are on the ACT CWRC webpage.
17 | DRAFT | © 2012 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved.

18. How to get Involved

20. Enrollment Windows October 7 - 11 November 4 - 8 December 2 - 6
Takes approximately 6 weeks to process.

22. Contact
1.800.WORKKEY

25. Overview WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC)
NCRC Plus
Career Ready 101

26. South Carolina Update SC Work Ready Communities
High Schools may test juniors or seniors – one time in Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics, Locating Information and Talent
Access to Career Ready 101 which includes KeyTrain
Award the NCRC or NCRC Plus
Costs are included in state contract
Multi agency agreement. Each county has a leadership team to meet the goals. You may want to pull up Dorchester County to show the goals. Stress only testing junior or senior once.

27. Customers High Schools Community Colleges Workforce Agencies Business
Non-profit
Corrections
Explain how all of these agencies are customers working together.

28. The ACT® WorkReady System
Comprehensive, evidence-based solutions.
With the ACT WorkReady System, we haven’t reinvented the wheel: we’ve set a new wheel in motion to help you reinvent your workforce.
Explain how this is a “system.” Testing is only one part of the system.

29. The ACT® WorkReady System
Comprehensive, evidence-based solutions.
Job Analysis
Define Your Workforce
Assessments
Assess Your Workforce
Training & Curriculum
Develop Your Workforce
Certification
Certify Your Workforce
Research & Analytics
Understand Your Workforce

30. Job Analysis Define Your Workforce
Access one of the largest, most robust occupational profiles databases in existence
Identify essential skills and skill levels for selection, hiring, and training
Job profiles are conducted by individuals who have completed ACT training. Approximately 20 profilers in SC. Profile sets the “benchmark” for a company who is hiring or a program on entrance or exit. Profile must be done for a company to use WK in selection.

31. Job Analysis Define Your Workforce
ACT’s JobPro™ database – which continues to grow – currently includes skill data for:

32. Job Analysis Define Your Workforce
Database is available in Career Ready A great way to show students skill levels for various occupations. You can also connect this to Onet. An excellent career exploration opportunity.

33. Assessments Assess Your Workforce
WorkKeys assessments measure “real world” workplace skills critical to job success. These skills are valuable for any occupation—skilled or professional—at any level of education, and in any industry.
Approximately 15 million WorkKeys assessments have been administered.

34. Assessments Assess Your Workforce Interpersonal Skills Teamwork
Soft Skills
Performance
Talent
Fit
Communication Skills
Business Writing
Listening for Understanding
Reading for Information
Problem Solving Skills
Applied Mathematics
Applied Technology
Locating Information
Workplace Observation
Explain in SC high schools – you will administer RI, AM, LI and Talent. We want to promote the use of internet testing.

35. The red blocks indicate the scores
The red blocks indicate the scores. If an examinee scores below level 3 in AM, LI or RI, the score reports will show <3. Level 1 and 2 are only measured on special forms.

36. CHARACTERISTICS OF PROBLEMS
Applied Mathematics
LEVEL
CHARACTERISTICS OF PROBLEMS
Skills 3
Translate easily from a word problem to a math equation
All needed information is presented in logical order
No extra information
Solve problems that require a single type of mathematics operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) using whole numbers
Add or subtract negative numbers
Change numbers from one form to another using whole numbers, fractions, decimals, or percentages
Convert simple money and time units (e.g., hours to minutes) 36

37. Level 3 Sample Item
In your job as a cashier, a customer gives you a $20 bill to pay for a can of coffee that costs $ How much change should you give back?
A. $15.26
B. $16.16
C. $16.26
D. $16.84
E. $17.16
Read slide

38. CHARACTERISTICS OF PROBLEMS
Applied Mathematics
LEVEL
CHARACTERISTICS OF PROBLEMS
Skills 4
Information may be presented out of order
May include extra, unnecessary information
May include simple charts, diagrams, or graphs
Solve problems that require one or two operations
Multiply negative numbers; Multiply a mixed number by a whole number or decimal
Calculate averages, simple ratios, simple proportions, or rates using whole numbers and decimals
Add commonly known fractions, decimals, or percentages (e.g., .75, 25%)
Add three fractions that share a common denominator 38

39. Level 4 Sample Item
Over the last 5 days, you made the following number of sales calls: 8, 7, 9, 5, and 7. On the average, how many calls did you make each day? A B C D E
Read slide

40. CHARACTERISTICS OF PROBLEMS
Applied Mathematics
LEVEL
CHARACTERISTICS OF PROBLEMS
Skills 5
Problems require several steps of logic and calculation (e.g., problem may involve completing an order form by totaling the order and then computing tax)
Decide what information, calculations, or unit conversions to use to solve the problem
Look up formula and perform single-step conversions within or between systems of measurement
Calculate using mixed units (e.g., 3.5 hours and 4 hours 30 minutes)
Divide negative numbers 40

41. Level 5 Sample Item
Quik Call charges 18 cents per minute for long-distance calls. Econo Phone totals your phone usage each month and rounds the number of minutes up to the nearest 15 minutes. It then charges $7.90 per hour of phone usage, dividing this charge into 15-minute segments if you used less than a full hour. If your office makes 5 hours 3 minutes worth of calls this month using the company with the lower price, how much will these calls cost?
Read slide

42. Level 5 Sample Item A. $39.50 B. $41.48 C. $41.87 D. $54.00 E. $54.54
Read slide

43. CHARACTERISTICS OF PROBLEMS
Applied Mathematics
LEVEL
CHARACTERISTICS OF PROBLEMS
Skills 6
May require considerable translation from verbal form to mathematical expression
May require considerable set up and involve multiple-step calculations or conversions
May involve transposition of formulas before calculating (e.g., v = ir ; r = v/I)
May involve conversions using two formulas within a system of measurement
Calculate using negative numbers, fractions, ratios, percentages and mixed numbers
Calculate multiple rates and then compare the rates or use them to perform other calculations
Find basic areas and volumes of rectangular solids
Calculate the “best deal” using the result in another problem
Identify and correct errors in calculations 43

44. Level 6 Sample Item
You are preparing to tile the floor of a rectangular room that is 15½ feet by 18½ feet in size. The tiles you plan to use are square measuring 12 inches on each side, and are sold in boxes that contain enough tile to cover 25 square feet. How many boxes of tile must you order to complete the job?
Read slide

45. Level 6 Sample Item A B C D E
Read slide

46. CHARACTERISTICS OF PROBLEMS
Applied Mathematics
LEVEL
CHARACTERISTICS OF PROBLEMS
Skills 7
Content or format may be unusual.
Information may be incomplete or implicit.
Problems often involve multiple steps of logic and calculation.
Solve problems that include nonlinear functions and/or that involve more than one unknown
Calculate multiple areas and volumes of spheres, cylinders, or cones
Convert between systems of measurement that involve fractions, mixed numbers, decimals, and/or percentages
Set up and manipulate complex ratios or proportions
Apply basic statistical concepts 46

47. Level 7 Sample Item
The farm where you just started working has a cylindrical oil tank that is 2.5 feet across on the inside. The depth of the oil in the tank is 2 feet. If 1 cubic foot of space holds 7.48 gallons, about how many gallons of oil are left in the tank?
Read slide

48. Level 7 Sample Item A B C D E
Read slide

49. Soft Skill Assessments
Talent
Performance
Fit
ACT developed based on customer/employer demand.

50. Talent Measures Work-Related Attitudes and Behaviors 165 survey items
30-35 minutes
Immediate test results
Talent is internet only. Students should take talent during the same week as RI, AM and LI are being administered.

51. WorkKeys Talent Assessment Indices
Teamwork
Tolerance, communication, attitude
Work Discipline
Productivity, dependability
Managerial Potential
Persuasion, enthusiasm, problem solving
Customer Service Orientation
Interpersonal skills, perseverance

52. Performance Online prescreening integrity test 60 survey items
10-15 minutes
Immediate test results

53. Performance
Measures attitudes toward work and a tendency toward risky behaviors.
Productivity
Absenteeism
Complaints about conduct
Theft

54. Fit
Matches an individual’s interests and values to the work environment
102 survey items
minutes
Autonomy, Physical Activity, Influencing Others, Precision

55. Fit A match between the individual and the workplace.
Map individual interests and values to the work environment
Enhance job persistence and satisfaction
Develop a talent pool to meet current and future workforce needs

56. Assessments Assess Your Workforce WorkKeys Solutions Providers
ACT licenses organizations to provide local access to the WorkKeys system

57. Assessments Assess Your Workforce
Internet Version: A quick and convenient way to deliver assessments
Paper-and-Pencil Assessments: Can be used in settings where access to a computer is not available
Stress using WKIV.

58. Training & Curriculum Develop Your Workforce
Career Ready 101® is an integrated approach to exploring careers and the skills they require, and developing skills in such areas as resume preparation, interviewing, and financial literacy. It promotes self- paced learning via a career portal and includes the full KeyTrain curriculum.
Encourage attending webinar. Stress having one or two people as administrators of CR Encourage school to import all students to set up student accounts – rather than having each teacher do this.

59. Training & Curriculum Develop Your Workforce
CR 101 includes KT and much more!

60. Training & Curriculum Develop Your Workforce
KeyTrain® is an interactive learning system for developing and improving the applied workplace skills defined by the WorkKeys system. The core curriculum is complemented by reporting capabilities, diagnostic tools, and soft skills curriculum.

61. Academic Foundation Skills Enabling Technologies
WorkKeys Curriculum
Pre-WorkKeys Curriculum
Academic Foundation Skills
Personal Soft Skills
Career Skills Curriculum
User Motivation
Career Clusters Curriculum
Job Profiles Database
Learning Management
Reporting
Spanish-language support
Enabling Technologies

62. KeyTrain Adds Value to WorkKeys3 4 5 6
Applied
Mathematics
Reading for
Information
Locating
Skills Gap
KeyTrain
Job Profile
Individual Results
By comparing the WorkKeys job profile and individual WorkKeys assessment results, skills gaps can be identified.
By using KeyTrain, the skill gaps can be closed.
Explain how the profile set the skill level. An examinee takes WK – and then the gap is identified. We see results in hours – for one skill level. I’ve seen it in as little as 6 and as much as 20 with an instructor. We want to encourage using the KeyTrain pre-quiz prior to WK testing.

63. KeyTrain is Online, 24/7 and Easy!
KeyTrain provides an easy to use Administrator Interface
Creating accounts is quick and easy!

64. KeyTrain lets you choose the needed skills
Assignment System is extremely easy to use.
Powerful, intelligent, adaptive pretesting quickly positions the learner at the appropriate level within each skill area.
Simple, one button to assign the pretests
Easy to assign lessons. This can be done for the entire school. Also – students can have access to other skills. So – if a teacher wants to include AT or BW, they can.

65. High Quality Curriculum
Consistent Instructional Design
User Friendly
Engages Users
Targeted Feedback
RESULTS in increasing skills

66. Career Option Components
Career Skills
200 Short lessons
covering all aspects
of Employability and
Work Maturity.
Topics include…
The Job Search
Work Habits
Communication Skills
Workplace Effectiveness
Business Etiquette

67. Career Option Components…
Career Clusters
Student selects one of the 16 Department of Education / Department of Labor Career Clusters,
Then…the Pretests in Applied Math, Reading for Information and Locating Information are delivered in the context of chosen cluster

68. Robust Reporting Module
Report on Students, Classes or the entire Organization with various levels of detail

69. Reporting Yields Variety of Data
Provides detailed information about individual student performance…
Consider how to use KT in the classroom. Will it be included as assignment? Grading?
Or analysis of class performance in every course, and more.

70. Powerful Career Exploration Tool for Student Engagement
Search Careers by Title, Cluster, Description, even WorkKeys Scores
Detailed Occupational information with WorkKeys levels needed…
…with direct connection to O*NET for Wages, Forecast and other valuable job data

71. KeyTrain Means Results For Everyone
KT has been shown to help in other student assessments.

72. Help center and resources

73. Certification Certify Your Workforce
The National Career Readiness Certificate, issued by ACT, is a portable, evidence-based credential that certifies essential skills needed for workplace success.

74. Certification Certify Your Workforce Features of the NCRC™
Evidence-based
Industry-recognized
Portable
Documents essential skills linked to workplace success
Awarded at four levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum

75. National Career Readiness Certificate
Three WorkKeys assessments
Applied Mathematics
Reading for Information
Locating Information
Certificate
WorkKeys Scores
Platinum
6s and above
An NCRC verifies an employee has the essential core employability skills that are critical for success in your organization.
ACT WorkKeys and the National Career Readiness Certificate are endorsed by the National Association of Manufacturers
Gold
5s and above
Silver
4s and above
Bronze
3s and above 75

76. Certification Benefits of the NCRC: Certify Your Workforce
Contextualized for the workplace
Predicts job performance and training success
User friendly
Recognized and accepted nationwide

77. Certification 1% 18% 47% 21% Certify Your Workforce
Percentage of U.S. Examinees Earning The NCRC 1%
18%
47%
21%
Source: ACT JobPro Data

78. NCRC ACE Recommendation

79. ACE and the NCRC
The American Council of Education has recommended the National Career Readiness Certificate for college credit:
Silver NCRC achievement ACE recommends 3 semester hours in applied critical thinking for vocational certificate programs.
Gold or platinum NCRC achievement ACE recommends 3 semester hours in applied critical thinking for lower-division baccalaureate or associate degree programs.

80. ACE and the NCRC What this means to students:
According to the studies conducted by the University of Michigan 3 credit hours equates to between a 135 and 180 hour commitment by the individual.
The average community college credit hour cost in the vicinity of $ The average cost of a credit hour at an in-state university is $350.
This places the value of the NCRC and ACE’s endorsement between $450 and $1050.

81. ACE and the NCRC Benefits for colleges:
A differentiator: to employers, to students
Provide useful information to employers about skills of learners
May attract individuals who otherwise would not have taken advantage of college services
Accelerate student progress – achievement to help students stay the course

82. Certification Certify Your Workforce Total NCRC Qualifiers by Year
Source: Internet and Paper-and-Pencil based WorkKeys Assessments from
Notes: NCRC Qualifiers include examinees that took the RI, AM, and LI WorkKeys assessments and qualified for an NCRC.

83. Certification NCRC Plus
Combining measures of cognitive skills with measures of work-related behaviors—soft skills—brings even greater accuracy to predictions about an individual’s success at work or in training.
The NCRC Plus – is the NCRC plus the talent.

84. Certification NCRC Plus
In addition to certifying cognitive skills, the NCRC Plus ranks individuals in four soft skills categories.
Work Discipline—productivity and dependability
Teamwork—tolerance, communication, and attitude
Customer Service Orientation—interpersonal skills and perseverance
Managerial Potential—persuasion, enthusiasm, and problem solving

85. Certification NCRC Plus
Individuals who qualify for the National Career Readiness Certificate can earn the NCRC Plus by taking the WorkKeys Talent assessment.
The Talent assessment is not required to qualify for a National Career Readiness Certificate.

86. Certification
NCRC Plus
Sample NCRC with the NCRC Plus rankings.

89. Certification Employer Success Certify Your Workforce
Learn more at act.org/workforce/case/
“As a result of worker certification, our community has shown promise for future industry in our area. We have become a community where qualified people can find good jobs using fair and objective hiring practices. As for Osborne Wood Products, we have found an effective tool to locate the best applicants and bring them into full employment seamlessly.”
- Leon Osborne, chief executive officer, Osborne Wood Products
Osborne Wood Products, Inc., Toccoa, Georgia
Flexsteel Industries, Dublin, Georgia
Eastman Kodak Company, Columbus, Georgia
Solo Cup Company, Conyers and Social Circle, Georgia
Energizer, Asheboro, North Carolina
Shands Jacksonville Medical Center, Jacksonville, Florida
Wolverine Coil Spring, Grand Rapids, Michigan
NW Natural, Portland, Oregon
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., Waterbury, Vermont
Hoffer Plastics Corporation, South Elgin, Illinois

90. Contact Us
1.800.WORKKEY