SPCC Launches Career Readiness Certificate Program
June 4, 2007
South Piedmont Community College hosted the Anson County Kick-Off Breakfast for the WorkKeys Career Readiness Certification program May 31 in the Olde Mill Conference Center at the Lockhart-Taylor Center in Wadesboro.
Pam Gobel, statewide director of the Career Readiness Certification program, told the Anson County industry, government and community representatives in attendance that the certification program is a way to enhance the workforce already in Anson County. Employers can have employees assessed and trained to decrease skill gaps in their workforce.
The Career Readiness Certificate will help take the guess work out of the hiring process by showing an employer that an employee has workplace skills in applied mathematics, reading for information and locating information. The CRC allows employers to eliminate testing for basic skills.
“When people come to you with this certificate, you can flip it over and know what skills they have,” said David Hollars, executive director of the Centralina Workforce Development Board.
“The Career Readiness Certificate program provides a way for us to prove to the world how good North Carolina’s workforce is,” said Gobel. “It helps employers hire and promote the right person.”
The Career Readiness Certificate is awarded based on the ACT WorkKeys System, an EEOC and ADA compliant assessment program. Bronze, silver and gold certificates are issued to indicate skill levels. A bronze certified worker has the skills necessary to perform 30 percent of jobs, a silver worker has skills required for 65 percent of jobs and a gold worker has skills enabling him to perform 95 percent of jobs.
Gobel described the certificate as a “portable credential.” Forty-five states have a version of the ACT WorkKeys and a state certificate makes a person eligible for national certification.
Anna Baucom, chair of the Anson County Board of Commissioners, said the CRC program would unify the efforts of several groups in the county who have been working independently on economic development issues.
Local workers who want to earn a CRC will initially take a free placement test at either SPCC or the N.C. Employment Security Commission. Based on the results of the placement test, they will be cleared for career readiness certification testing or referred to a software lab at the Lockhart-Taylor Center to improve their skill set. Workers who lack essential reading or math skills may be referred to basic skills or developmental education programs at SPCC.
SPCC President John McKay asked that employers partner with SPCC and the Anson County JobLink Career Center to use the CRC as part of their hiring process, and refer workers with training needs to the college. “The key to making the certification program work is for employers to make this a standard for hiring,” McKay said.
Anson County Career Readiness Certification sponsors are the Anson County JobLink Career Center, Anson County Government, Centralina Workforce Development Board and SPCC.
To learn more about Career Readiness Certification, contact Kristi Phifer, SPCC Work First coordinator, at 704-272-5300.
