ACT to Offer Workforce Curriculum: Acquires KeyTrain to Enhance Work Readiness System

December 15, 2010 IOWA CITY, Iowa—ACT, Inc. announced today the enhancement of the ACT Work Readiness System to include new training and curriculum offerings from KeyTrain. The system is designed to help job seekers, employees and employers identify skill gaps and improve their workplace skills. The ACT Work Readiness System is a comprehensive, evidence-based solution to support skills advancement and workplace success. The five components include job analysis, assessments, training and curriculum, certification, and research and analytics. The talented people and assets of KeyTrain will become part of ACT effective December 15, 2010, to provide quality training and curricula and contribute to ACT's mission of helping people achieve education and workplace success. Thinking Media of Chattanooga, Tennessee, developed and marketed this skills gap training curricula under the KeyTrain^® brand for more than a decade. With this acquisition, ACT will own the KeyTrain product portfolio and benefit from the talented staff, including instructional designers, programmers, Web developers, writers, consultants and sales representatives operating nationwide. "This is a significant addition for our Workforce Division" said Jon Whitmore, ACT chief executive officer. "KeyTrain leadership and employees have built a solid business with a long history of success, providing quality training curricula and services in support of ACT workforce solutions. We look forward to a successful integration of their people and products as we continue to address workforce challenges in the global marketplace." "KeyTrain has long been a valued partner of ACT," added Martin Scaglione, president of ACT's Workforce Development Division. "Adding the talents and products of the KeyTrain team to ACT will greatly enhance our established Work Readiness System. We consider KeyTrain the premier source of training and remediation programs to close skill gaps and upskill the workforce using ACT's WorkKeys^® system and the National Career Readiness Certificate." Thinking Media president Sheila Boyington stated, "This marks a logical evolution of the excellent work our team has done for many years and a recognition of the exceptional relationship we have maintained with ACT. We look forward to continuing to provide outstanding service to our clients and to expanding our offerings under the ACT banner." Boyington and the KeyTrain team will report to Martin Scaglione of ACT effective December 15. As employees of ACT, they will continue to serve customers directly and will remain in Chattanooga. About the KeyTrain system and the Career Ready 101^® course KeyTrain is a comprehensive system for improving the basic skills measured by ACT's WorkKeys assessment system. Users may assess their potential WorkKeys scores, review topics in each WorkKeys skill area, and practice problems similar to those on actual WorkKeys assessments. The system includes targeted, self-paced instruction and pre- and post-assessments. These components can be used to help individuals learn, practice and demonstrate the skills they need to succeed in the jobs and careers they wish to pursue. Available online, on CD-ROM, or in print, KeyTrain is widely used by state workforce offices, businesses, secondary schools, WorkKeys Solution Provider sites, school-to-work consortiums and individuals. KeyTrain's Career Ready 101 is a comprehensive career training course designed to help individuals explore careers and their skill requirements; build workplace skills; strengthen vital life skills such as financial literacy, resume writing and interviewing skills; and build soft skills, including customer service and work habits. The program leads users to certification with ACT WorkKeys assessments and the National Career Readiness Certificate.