Quality Product Plus Customer Service Equals Success for Creators of KeyTrain^®

Sheila and Dane Boyington successfully built the KeyTrain system by putting customers first.

“We took the time to develop a quality product and then backed it up with a high level of customer service and support. A customer-centered approach has always been one of the cornerstones of the way we do business,” said Sheila Boyington. “We are available whenever our customers need us, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. We take our customers’ input into consideration in everything we do.”

The KeyTrain staff, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, includes from left: Jill Ralph, Tom Trevor, Joseph Nichols, Jeffrey Cross, Dane Boyington, Sheila Boyington, Alan Artress, Martin Scaglione (ACT Workforce Development), Stan Brodka, Justin Saylor, and Karen August. Not pictured are field staff members Mary Molusky, Rick Harris, Les Harrison, Jack Reese, and Jack Heslin.

ACT acquired KeyTrain in December 2010 to enhance the established ACT Work Readiness System. The system’s five components—job analysis, assessments, training and curriculum, certification, and research and analytics—help job seekers, employees, and employers identify skill gaps and improve workplace skills.

The Boyingtons created the KeyTrain system and marketed it for more than a decade as part of their company, Thinking Media, based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. KeyTrain is a comprehensive training curriculum for improving the basic skills measured by the WorkKeys^® assessments. It offers targeted, self-paced instruction, and pre- and post-assessments that help people learn, practice, and demonstrate many of the skills needed for jobs.

Now employed by ACT, the Boyingtons continue to provide oversight of the KeyTrain business and serve as vice presidents of ACT Workforce Curriculum. They and the rest of KeyTrain’s staff continue to be based in Chattanooga, where they serve customers directly. Other staff members include instructional designers, programmers, Web developers, writers, consultants, and sales representatives operating nationwide.

Meet the Boyingtons

Sheila and Dane Boyington earned their undergraduate degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Florida and graduate degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. Sheila holds a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering, and Dane holds a PhD in chemical engineering. Prior to starting Thinking Media, Dane worked in research and development for DuPont, and Sheila worked in environmental engineering consulting. They also raised two daughters.

Thinking Media got its start as a custom developer of highly technical, customized computer-based training for manufacturers and government agencies, such as DuPont, Brach and Brock Confections, Inc., and the City of Chattanooga. The Boyingtons, who hold graduate degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, are trained engineers.

“We always envisioned having our own business. Fourteen years ago, Dane did some research and came up with the idea of computer-based instruction, as that seemed to be the way training was headed,” said Sheila Boyington.

They learned about WorkKeys at a conference shortly thereafter, at about the same time that Tennessee became one of the first states to adopt an early version of the WorkKeys system. A local chemical company that had started to implement WorkKeys approached a nearby college for help in creating a curriculum that would prepare people for the assessments. The college turned to Thinking Media for assistance, and KeyTrain was born.

“It took about two years for us to develop all of the courses for the WorkKeys skill areas. We hired people from across the United States who had expertise in WorkKeys and the particular skill areas to help us,” said Sheila Boyington.

Today, KeyTrain is used throughout the United States and by about 7,000 affiliate organizations, including high schools, community colleges, workforce agencies, businesses, and correctional facilities. The Boyingtons look forward to growing KeyTrain as a part of ACT.

“Together, we offer a unified system that provides essential tools to help workers improve their skills and find jobs or pursue new careers,” said Dane Boyington. “We are excited that we get to continue to be a part of the ongoing national conversation about improving America’s workforce.”