ACT in the News 
Local managers: on-the-job training needed to improve workforce-BusINess
Job profiling and having applicants take skills exams such as WorkKeys can help reduce turnover by 30 to 60 percent, said Keith Hamilton, an Anderson, Ind.-based regional corporate college program manager for Ivy Tech Community College. Through these processes, he said, new hires are less likely to get frustrated and quit or be fired because of poor performance.
Changes in Metalworking Trades Mean Changes for Apprentice Training-American Machinist
Today’s metalworking environment has changed dramatically over the past two decades but many apprenticeship programs haven’t matched those changes. One trade organization that is transforming the way metalworking apprentices are trained is TMA. TMA is a Park Ridge, Ill.-based, full service manufacturing association for companies with various services and programs....Getting started in TMA’s Apprentice Training Program requires potential students to begin with a WorkKeys job skills assessment program, developed by ACT. WorkKeys also can help employers to select, hire, train, develop, and retain a high-performance workforce. WorkKeys assesses employee competence in several areas to assess the participant’s readiness for training. WorkKeys focus on three areas: Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, and Reading for Information.
Gov. Haley, ACT Announce SC Job Training Initiative-WSPA Spartanburg
ACT, a non-profit, chose the Palmetto State and three others for the year-long Certified Work Ready Communities Academy. The initiative, which starts next week, will integrate all of the state’s job training and employment programs and bring together several state agencies including Commerce and the Department of Employment and Workforce. The main goal is to work with business communities around the state to see what types of training and skills companies are looking for in new employees. Workforce centers across the state already use ACT products, like the WorkKeys certification, to assess workers’ skills, train them and give them credentials. Some of the programs test “hard skills” like working with machinery and others prove communication or technical document literacy. According to WorkReady SC more than 160,000 South Carolinians already have some form of ACT certification.
The Growing Potential Of Free Market Education-Forbes Magazine
While the United States should be pushing alternatives to the traditional four-year college, it also should be pushing alternatives to the way we gauge preparedness for the workplace. The market can provide that as well. A good example is the five-year-old National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) program, developed by ACT, Inc. – the nonprofit organization that created the American College Testing Program, the primary alternative to the SAT.The idea behind NCRC, which has been endorsed by the American Association of Community Colleges, is to make it easier for employers to assess the skills of potential employees. As Mac Macllroy, past president of the Michigan Manufacturers Association, observed, “Predictability, uniformity, and certainty are universal goals of executives. The NCRC does this for the hiring process.”
Advanced Systems, Inc. to begin job-profiling program-Brandon Valley Challenger
Advanced Systems, Inc. has announced their intention to partner with the Department of Labor and Regulation (DLR) in their National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) job-profiling program...“We see this program as a very positive move for our company and the community,” said ASI Human Resources Director Mary Drumm. “We are excited to move forward.”
Employers hear how job applicant assessments can cut costs-Quincy Herald Whig
Knapheide Manufacturing Company hosted the program on WorkKeys assessments and the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC). Vice President Jim Rubottom said assessment programs are appealing to employers who want to avoid high employee turnover among new hires...Berner Foods Inc. of Dakota, Ill., reported that in 2009 a single department there had 13 terminations that cost the company $215,000. In 2010 there were 12 terminations in the same department at a cost of $188,000. After adding NCRC and WorkKeys assessments to the hiring system, the company had only one termination in 2011, with minimal costs.
Showing our leaders what manufacturing is-Plastics Today
Hoffer Plastics is one of the U.S. plastics industry's oldest family-owned molding businesses, having been founded in 1953 by Robert Hoffer. ...Sen. Durbin participated in a roundtable discussion with Hoffer executives and representatives from local business and educational organizations about the innovative ACT WorkKeys assessment program. WorkKeys administers a battery of tests which measures an individual's proficiency and suitability for various jobs. During 2011, Hoffer added 18 employees whose reading skills and qualifications were certified by the WorkKeys assessment process, which Hoffer executives said helped them streamline the screening, interviewing and hiring process.
A National Career Readiness Certificate Has Emerged to Connect Minnesota Businesses With a Skilled Workforce – Park Rapids Enterprise
A National Career Readiness Certificate has emerged to connect Minnesota businesses with a skilled workforce, the initiative stemming from the challenge employers face in finding qualified applicants. The test not only demonstrates job seekers’ abilities, but helps employers hire and promote skilled employees.
Aligning the Common Core and the National Career Readiness Certificate-The Center for Energy Workforce Development
One of the many stackable credentials now being used by those in the energy and other industries to determine work readiness is the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC), which measures foundational skills (such as problem-solving and critical thinking) needed for success in the workplace. Recently, ACT, Inc. undertook an analysis of how this new credential aligns with the Common Core State Standards for education, which define the knowledge and skills students should learn from kindergarten through the end of high school. What it found was that there are many areas where the two overlap, and some in which they do not.
Removing hurdles-Salt Lake City Tribune
For some high school students nearing graduation, the fee they must pay to take the ACT is the first financial hurdle standing in their path toward college. For these teenagers from low-income homes, the $34 minimum cost to take the test one time is hard to come by. Still, it’s in their interests and the best interest of the state for all high school students to take the ACT. That’s why the Legislature should pass Sen. Margaret Dayton’s bill to make the ACT the required standardized test for high school juniors, at state expense.
Nebraska schools experimenting with ACT-KTIV Television
As part of a multi-year project set up by the Nebraska legislature some students will take the ACT test during their junior year. It could become the new standard for testing for students."It will expose all of our students to the ACT and it will also give us really good information about where our kids are and then how can we improve as a system to ensure that we're providing those experiences," said Vernon Fisher, superintendent at South Sioux City high school.
Handling the learning curve: Career readiness certificate puts workers at the “head of the line”-VTDigger.org
The significant challenge for businesses is finding enough qualified people and helping them to develop necessary new skills. Many Vermont workers meanwhile struggle to keep a job or prepare for something better. And for those who are under- or unemployed, adds Bill Morison, a former New Hampshire businessman who coordinates workforce development initiatives for the Community College of Vermont, the problem can be anything from learning how to succeed in an interview, developing more confidence, dealing with stress, or obtaining a credential that will provide an edge. In response, the Labor Department and CCV have been building and refining a collaborative approach to workforce education and development in recent years, highlighted by an employee credentialing program that leads to a National Career Readiness Certificate.
Looking for a job in Juneau County? Here’s a way to impress employers – Star Times
Gesler said one way to prove those skills to employers is to earn the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) - Wisconsin's work-readiness credential. According to Gesler, the NCRC is a "tool that demonstrates to employers that an individual possesses the basic skills required for success in today's workforce."
Employers’ needs focus of work force summit-Joplin Globe
The May 22 tornado changed some employment trends, but there also have been other factors affecting employment and the region’s work force. The topics were among those discussed Thursday at the Southwest Missouri Work Force Summit, held at Fairview Christian Church. The event is produced by the Workforce Investment Board of Southwest Missouri and the Missouri Career Center. There also was a lot of information about ACT Inc. initiatives used by some area companies, including WorkKeys, a job skill profiling system. It determines the skills companies need for specific positions and allows the companies to screen applicants for those skills when hiring. A panel comprising Suzanne Baucom, of Bemis Inc., Sharon Beasley, of General Dynamics, and Amber Robertson, of Ceradyne Boron Products, praised the system.
Durbin Gets Schooled in Readiness-Chicagoland Daily Herald
Monica Cruz is a machine operator at Hoffer Plastics in South Elgin. The 35-year-old was hired six months ago after earning the National Career Readiness Certificate and is one of 18 employees Hoffer Plastics brought on in 2011 with those qualifications. Cruz met Sen. Dick Durbin Wednesday along with local education, business and government leaders pitching statewide support for the certificate.
Smart Career Move to Come for High Schoolers Not Planning on Attending College-KWES TV (Midland, TX)
Wille Taylor with the Workforce Solutions says, "[We'll] try to assess some of the juniors and seniors in the areas of math, reading and information. Once they make a certain score on the assessment, they receive a national certification." The certification is called a National Career Readiness Certificate. So far, its recognized across the United States by the National Association of Manufacturers, National Center for Construction Education and Research and the Center for Energy Workforce Development.
Kentucky among first states invited to new Work Ready Academy – Cincinnati Fox Channel 19
Governor Steve Beshear announced today that Kentucky is among the first states to be accepted into the national ACT Certified Work Ready Communities Academy. ... ACT, usually associated with educational testing, is establishing a national baseline for state workforce standards that each state can build on through its Certified Work Ready Communities program. The academy gives Kentucky leaders the opportunity to collaborate with other state leaders on workforce development strategies.
10th-grade writing test replaced with ACT-Raleigh News Observer
Starting this March, high school juniors will take a national college entrance exam called the ACT, which includes a writing section.The state is paying for juniors to take the ACT and is using the scores to help determine whether schools are preparing students for college and work.
Moanalua High School models effective student engagement-Hawaii State Department of Education
Innovative leadership and a sustained commitment to student and teacher development have kept the spotlight on Moanalua High School for demonstrating best practices in education. A few years ago, the high school began administering the entire battery of ACT achievement tests to all freshmen, sophomores and juniors. The results from the national standardized tests include academic scores, and provide students and their parents with rich information on how students can meet their academic and career goals.
Work Hard Work Smart: New Locations to Help Job Seekers-KAUZ TV Wichita Falls
Jimmy Crump was one of more than 1,400 people who took the test and received his National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC). He put it on his application and soon found a job."It's showing the employers that you have already meet certain qualifications," said Crump. Work Hard Work Smart works with more than 60 employers who recognize the certificate.
