Colleagues,
    I have been aware of the confusion about and interest in work
readiness credentials in the field, and, as your moderator, I was
planning a discussion on the topic in May. The COABE Conference gave me
the chance to meet and hear presentations from people with first-hand
knowledge and experience in this area.  And your expressed interest in
having the materials from their presentations led me to move the planned
discussion up to coincide with the materials being shared on the list.
That it worked for the guests who have agreed to discuss the issues with
us to be available next week is fortuitous!  
    The discussion has been announced on many of the other NIFL
discussion lists and we have several new members who have signed up in
the last two days, probably to have the benefit of the discussion.
    This  post provides (below) simplified background information and
includes all the attachments and links we have so that you will have
them all in one place. I will repeat the information on Monday in the
post that opens the discussion.  Please arm yourself with enough
information that the discussion will be meaningful to you, and be ready
to share your thoughts and queries as a part of the discussion. Feel
free to ask questionsof the guests and each other, challenge
conclusions, and otherwise mull over the implications.
    I hope you all will enjoy this special event.  Thank you for your
support of the list and for expressing your interest in work/career
readiness certificates/credentials.
 
 
 
 
Background and Resources for Work/Career Readiness
Certificates/Credentials
 
        The idea behind a work/career readiness certificate/credential
is that workers or potential workers who have achieved a set level of
proficiencies in areas needed for entry-level jobs will be provided with
a certificate or credential that will signify to employers their level
of readiness to be employed.  The bestowing of a certificate would be of
value to the instructor, the adult learner wishing to be employed, and
the employer.  Employers, many of whom have long complained that
prospective employees lack needed skills for entry level work, would
have job applicants certified to have the needed skills.  Workers would
have documentation of their skills and would have a competitive edge
over those applicants without a credential.  A credential would provide
the increased confidence and assurance that they were prepared for work.
And instructors would have a clearer idea of which skills to emphasize
and a way to demonstrate to adult learners the progress the learners
were making.  Then if assessments being used and the skills being
measured were standardized across the United States, workers would have
a credential that was portable from one community to the next and from
state to state.  
        A variety of work readiness certificates have been adopted
across the United States.  They differ in target populations and
competencies stressed. Most focus on both hard and soft skills.  Some
require only that the worker pass a test measuring competencies, while
others are obtained by completing a training program and then
successfully demonstrating skills on an assessment.  Some states have
already adopted a specific program statewide, and many more are
considering the options.
        Three work readiness programs have wide acceptance and appeal
across the U.S.  They are (1) WorkKeys Career Readiness Certification, a
product of ACT, Inc.;   (2) National Work Readiness Credential, endorsed
by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and  (3) Workforce Skills Certification
System, offered by CASAS (Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment
System).  We have guests lined up for our discussion with experience in
each of these three.  A comparison of these three plus two state-wide
(Arkansas and Florida) systems,  "A Survey of Selected Work Readiness
Certificates,"  is published online by Jobs for the Future at 
http://www.jff.org/Documents/WorkReadiness.pdf
<http://www.jff.org/Documents/WorkReadiness.pdf>  . The authors of this
paper, Norma Rey-Alicea and Geri Scott, have also agreed to be our
guests for our discussion.  For each of the programs, their summary
provides information in the following categories:

*	
	Summary
*	
	Certifying body
*	
	Target population
*	
	Testing locations and sites
*	
	Curriculum (if applicable)
*	
	Competencies assessed, scoring process, and test format
*	
	Authorization of test administrators
*	
	Certification for test takers
*	
	Cost
*	
	Employment-related outcomes
*	
	Contact information

Reviewing this informative and well-organized paper, at least the
summaries of the three programs of our invited discussion guests, will
help to focus our discussion.  
 
        I have also attached the materials sent by our guests who made
presentations about their programs at COABE. These are the same
materials that were sent to the list earlier, and I have included them
here so that all your resources and information would be available in
the same place.  Each program also has a website.  Below are the URLs,
discussion guests and the resources for each of the three programs.
 
WorkKeys Career Readiness Certification    
http://www.act.org/workkeys/index.html
<http://www.act.org/workkeys/index.html> 
Traci Lepicki, Project Coordinator, Ohio's Career Readiness Credential,
The Ohio State University Center on Education and Training for
Employment
Adrienne Glandon, Ohio's Career Readiness Credential, The Ohio State
University Center on Education and Training for Employment
Additional materials: attachments "Ohio WorkKeys.pdf" and
"OhioStudentStories.pdf"
 
 
National Work Readiness Credential    http://www.workreadiness.com/
<http://www.workreadiness.com/> 
Louis Soares, Executive Director of the National Work Readiness Council
Lansing Davis (Lanse), Senior Policy Analyst with the NJ State
Employment and Training Commission, the State WIB
Judith Titzel, Adult Education Specialist, RI Adult Education
Professional Development Center 
Additional materials: attachments "wrcProfileLink" and "NWRCppt"
 

Workforce Skills Certification System    http://www.casas.org
<http://www.casas.org>       (look for the CASAS Workforce Skills
Certification link under "What's New"
Jane Eguez, Director of Program Planning, CASAS 
Melissa Dayton, Workforce Program Specialist, CASAS 

 
        These invited guests should feel free to correct any of the
information I have provided here.  Members of the Workplace discussion
list with experience in these and other work readiness credentialing
systems are also especially invited to share your experiences in this
discussion. 
 
        I will provide additional suggestions for participation when I
open the discussion on Monday.  Have a good weekend!
 
Donna
 
Donna Brian, Moderator
Workplace Literacy Discussion List
djgbrian at utk.edu
 
 
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