Autumn 2007 Activity: WorkKeys National Conference Puts Focus on Rebuilding the Workforce

New Orleans was an appropriate setting for the tenth annual WorkKeys National Conference, with its theme of “Rebuilding the Workforce.” In a city where much of the population was displaced after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and businesses are still struggling to recover, discussing labor shortages and work skills seemed especially relevant.

“The Big Easy” drew more than 600 leaders in education, business, workforce development, economic development, and government to the conference. In keeping with the conference theme, ACT introduced several new services as “tools” to be used in workforce rebuilding efforts, including the National Career Readiness Certificate and WorkKeys Personal Skills exams.

“We have daunting challenges, and we believe a skilled workforce is an economic necessity for the nation,” said Richard L. Ferguson, ACT CEO and chairman of the board, who opened the conference. “WorkKeys is a common sense approach to finding skilled labor, and the National Career Readiness Certificate is the next step.”

Photo of ACT CEO and Chairman of the Board Richard L. Ferguson and former Florida governor Jeb Bush.

The conference was highlighted by three keynote speeches that attracted big crowds. Ferguson introduced opening keynote speaker and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. Governor Blanco welcomed the crowd, emphasizing the role WorkKeys is playing in Louisiana’s recovery from the terrible hurricanes of 2005.

“We’re talking about efforts to rebuild the workforce at this conference, and we’re in New Orleans, the epicenter of Gulf Coast recovery efforts,” Blanco said. “We’re on our way to recruiting and training a new workforce here in Louisiana, and WorkKeys is a critical component of our recovery.”

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush spoke about the role of education in building a skilled workforce. He laid out a ten-part plan for improving education and workforce preparedness, including a renewed focus on basic skills, high school reform, and preparing for the global economy. He praised the National Career Readiness Certificate as a way to help people realize their potential. “The certificate gives them hope,” Bush said. “It allows them to tell businesses about their skills and to improve their deficiencies.”

Fredrick Kendrick of Bayer Material Sciences, the conference’s third keynote speaker, detailed the role of talent management in the business world. He called this getting the right people in the right job at the right time. Bayer, a longtime user of WorkKeys, incorporates the tests into its talent management model. “To sustain talent management activities, we have to identify strategies and analyze all methods that human resources uses to sustain those strategies, such as diversity, retention, training, and development,” Kendrick said.

WorkKeys National Conference Puts Focus on ‘Rebuilding the Workforce’