What is the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC)?
What is the National Career Readiness Certificate and how is it related to KeyTrain?
The National Career Readiness Certificate (also called the NCRC) is also a product of ACT, Inc. It is a four-tiered (bronze, silver, gold, platinum) certification that measures career readiness. The NCRC is a portable, national credential that verifies to employers anywhere in the United States that an individual has essential core employability skills in Reading, Math and Locating Information. The National Career Readiness Certificate is the national standard in certifying workplace skills. Requested and required by employers across the nation, the Certificate allows individuals to demonstrate their level of skill in the most common skills required for success in the workplace. ACT has researched over 16,000 occupations, and these three skills are highly important to the majority of jobs in the workplace. The NCRC is an easily understood and nationally valued credential that certifies the attainment of these workplace skills.
What is the NCRC used for?
- Screening – Employers interview only applicants who have the skills required for the job.
- Hiring and promotion – A NCRC can be used as a "plus" factor to help make selection and promotion decisions.
- Targeting employee training and development – Employers can target their training budgets for job-specific skills rather than basic skills.
Why do I need the NCRC?
The Certificate is designed to complement other traditional credentials, such as a high school diploma, community college degree or college degree. While these education credentials mark the fulfillment of your classroom learning experiences, the NCRC proves you have the workplace skills needed to succeed at your new job. The NCRC offers individuals, employers and educators an easily understood and nationally valued credential certifying essential workplace skills.
What assessments are used for the NCRC?
To earn a National Career Readiness Certificate, individuals must successfully complete WorkKeys assessments in Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, and Reading for Information. ACT has profiled more than 16,000 individual jobs across the country to determine the skills and skill levels needed to succeed in them. According to these ACT findings, these three skills are highly important to most jobs.
WorkKeys® Foundational and Personal Skills assessments are used to provide reliable, relevant information about workplace skill levels. WorkKeys Foundational Skills assessments measure cognitive abilities such as applied mathematics, reading for information and locating information. WorkKeys Personal Skills assessments are designed to predict job behavior and measure the full potential of individuals.
WorkKeys is the leading job skills assessment system in the nation, measuring “real world” foundational skills critical to job success. These skills are valuable for any occupation—skilled or professional—and at any level of education. WorkKeys also offers job analysis to identify skills required for jobs, and training to correct skill gaps.
Where can I learn more about WorkKeys?
How can I prepare to take the WorkKeys assessments to obtain the NCRC?
The Department of Labor has contracted with The Career Learning Center of the Black Hills to administer KeyTrain® skill training. KeyTrain is a comprehensive, self-paced, easy-to-use program designed to assist with the learning skills associated with the ACT WorkKeys Assessment System. KeyTrain will assess a person’s potential WorkKeys score, help participants review topics in each WorkKeys skill area and provide practice problems similar to those on an actual WorkKeys assessment.
The WorkKeys® system measures the skills required in the everyday workplace. It helps to improve America's workforce by sharpening the workplace skills of students or employees. Employees are then placed in jobs where they can be more successful. This system benefits individuals, businesses and educators by providing a common language for describing basic skills needed for jobs.
Who are the State office contacts for the NCRC, WorkKeys and KeyTrain?
Scott Kwasniewski –Program Specialist (East area - Brookings) 605.688.4350
Steve Almeida – Program Specialist (West area - Rapid City) 605.394.2296
Andrew Szilvasi – Program Specialist (Pierre) 605.773.3101