National Career Readiness Certificate Addresses Country’s Skills Crisis

The National Career Readiness Certificate has the potential to be a nationally recognized credential that confirms, “I am prepared with skills and I can deliver.”

That’s how Bill Guest, managing director of Metrics Reporting, Inc., views ACT’s National Career Readiness Certificate. He was one of three panelists who shared their thoughts at the ACT annual meeting October 17–18 in Iowa City. In a discussion spearheaded by Pamela Tate, president and CEO of the Council for Advancement and Experiential Learning (CAEL), panelists and other speakers tackled issues related to the national skills shortage.

“The idea is to have our nation accept the National Career Readiness Certificate as a standard of work readiness. The high school diploma isn’t that standard anymore,” said Guest.

He talked about his state—Michigan—and the use of WorkKeys. Sixteen percent of Michigan residents who recently tested scored below the bronze level and another 16 percent reached that level, qualifying them for jobs with an annual salary of approximately $30,000. “Have any of you tried to live on $30,000 a year? You can’t,” said Guest. “To have a livable wage, you have to be at the silver level. We have to reach down and help a third of our people climb up.”

People who score at certain levels on three WorkKeys assessments—Applied Mathematics, Reading for Information, and Locating Information—qualify for a certificate. Those earning scores of 5 and above receive a gold certificate; 4 and above, a silver; and 3 and above, a bronze.

Guest said the course of America could be changed with help from organizations like CAEL and ACT. A national nonprofit organization, CAEL helps higher education, business, and the public sector achieve their goals using creative approaches to adult learning. CAEL’s mission is “to advance lifelong learning in partnership with educational institutions, employers, labor organizations, government, and communities.”

The organization is currently focused on addressing workforce shortages in America. “We believe the National Career Readiness Certificate is an important innovation that can contribute to solving the skills and workforce crisis and its challenges,” said Tate.

Employers Want Workable Solutions

Tate said the seriousness of the worker shortages and skills gaps has increased the need for a national certificate. According to Tate, a shortage of 12 million qualified skilled workers is expected in the next two and a half years, and a shortage of 20 million by 2020. The keyword, she said, is “skilled.” “There are lots of opinions about whether we’ll actually have a labor shortage. Everyone agrees we’ll have a skills shortage,” she said.

Tate highlighted the industries that are expected to be the most affected by skills gaps:

Healthcare. According to the National Rural Health Association, the country is at crisis level now and, by 2010, 40 percent of all registered nurses will be 50 or older. “We’ll need 1.7 million nurses, but have only 635,000 coming out of schools,” she said. Many other healthcare professions show similar patterns of shortage and qualified people. To help address the shortage of certified healthcare workers, CAEL, with support from the U.S. Department of Labor, created the Nursing Career Lattice program, which uses an apprenticeship model to help both incumbent and new workers enter and advance in healthcare careers. Nine states currently use the program.

Manufacturing. “The 2005 Skills Gap Report—A Survey of the American Manufac-turing Workforce” prepared by the National Association of Manufacturers’ Manufacturing Institute/Center for Workforce Success and Deloitte Consulting, confirms skill shortages among manufacturers. More than 80 percent of companies surveyed indicated they are experiencing a shortage of qualified workers overall. Ninety percent indicated a moderate to severe shortage of qualified skilled production employees, including front-line workers; 65 percent reported a shortage of engineers and scientists. “This means difficulty in maintaining productivity levels, achieving productivity targets, and maintaining targeted levels of customer service,” she said.

Utilities industry. CAEL works with a coalition of electric and nuclear utility companies to address shortages through degree programs and online courses for utility employees. “There is enormous concern among industry officials about how to replace workers in entry-level, high-paying jobs. The average age of the utility workforce is mid-50s. The demand for qualified workers is increasing while the supply is decreasing,” she said.

These industries are facing shortages now; many others will be facing shortages in the years to come. “The good news is we’re seeing employers place increasing attention on skills, on assessments, and on workforce development for employees at all levels. They’re saying that to be competitive, we need to look at everyone’s skills, the credentials of our entire workforce. That is a great opening for the National Career Readiness Certificate.”

She said employers are prepared to take action to address the skills shortage and are open to suggestions. They want solutions that work. “We have a moment of opportunity here. I think employers are more receptive than ever to the idea of a standard approach to workforce credentialing,” she said.

CAEL has been working with a variety of organizations and groups, including Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED), a U.S. Department of Labor initiative designed to bring together state, local and federal entities; academic institutions (including K–12, community colleges, and universities); investment groups; foundations; and business and industry to address the challenges associated with building a globally competitive and prepared workforce. CAEL has assisted with WIRED projects in north central Indiana and western Michigan.

“Our experience with WIRED has given us a lot of insight into ways that the National Career Readiness Certificate could be helpful,” said Tate. “The certificate could be the ‘super connector’ in the region, meaning that everyone could connect around a common approach to assessment of skills.”

Shortages Prompt Action

Panelist Dee Baird has already seen how the certificate serves as a “super connector” in her region—the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Technology Corridor. Baird is vice president, continuing education and training services at Kirkwood Community College. She is also a member of the committee that initiated Skills Advantage—a regional career readiness certificate program—to address the skills shortage in a seven-county region of eastern Iowa.

According to a 2006 report released by the committee, 56 percent of the eastern Iowa companies surveyed indicated that critical skills were missing from their applicant pool and 42 percent indicated that existing workers also lacked those skills. The committee recommended that employers require assessments so they can create demand for skills in the hiring process, and also that educational institutions adopt tools to measure these skills.

“In working with our economic development partners, we felt it was essential to do something to move the dialogue forward,” said Baird. “We looked at other assessments, but knew the power of WorkKeys.”

The Skills Advantage program launched with 21 employers; today, 81 are part of a consortium. The goal is to have 110 by July 2008. So far, 1,000 people have been tested, more than half after they had seen ads that mentioned the program.

“We think of ourselves as the little region that could,” said Baird.

The committee has decided to affiliate with the National Career Readiness Certificate. “We knew this would bring some resources and capabilities to our regional initiative that we could never obtain ourselves,” she said. The talent and job bank, which are part of the national certificate, add value for both individuals and employers. And the portability of the national certificate is meaningful to corridor employers who have offices outside Iowa.

Recently, the committee undertook a research project designed to create a regional benchmark of incumbent worker scores. Economic development groups will be able to use the benchmark as they promote the level of worker foundational skills in the region.

Keith Bird, another panelist, knows firsthand about the benefits of the National Career Readiness Certificate. As chancellor of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Bird has had experience with WorkKeys, which the state started using in the late 1990s, and which led to the development of the Kentucky Employability Certificate (KEC). The state has since affiliated with the national certificate and the legislature has passed a bill that includes adoption of the ACT, WorkKeys, and KEC to promote workforce and college readiness in Kentucky’s high schools.

This past year has brought a renewed sense of urgency to the state, following completion of a marketing study of 3,000 high school teachers and counselors, roundtable discussions involving more than 300 executives held at 17 locations around the state, and an extensive analysis of KCTCS’ website. More than 400 jobs have been profiled for Kentucky companies, several million dollars have been invested in a Career Pathways program, college degree programs are being analyzed to ensure they are industry driven, and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce is getting involved in workforce issues.

“The shortage of workers is moving everyone,” he said. Kentucky’s workforce will shrink by 90,000 workers by 2025, affecting the coal and auto manufacturing industries, among others. “We still have people who think that not everyone needs education beyond high school, and we still have people who don’t understand what ‘sustainable jobs’ means. Some hold to the belief that hands-on occupations don’t require a mind. But our position is ‘leave no adult behind.’ We still have a job to do.”

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