Work Eau Claire - A Regional ACT Work Ready Initiative

Goals

Regional businesses, educational institutions, agencies, and community partners in the Chippewa Valley are embarking on an ACT national certification project entitled “Work Ready.” This group is seeking to become the first-ever county in Wisconsin to receive this designation. Read on and find out how you can support the effort!

First Things First…

The Basics…

Certification is based on the “WorkKeys” assessment which measures individual “work-readiness” skill levels. Specifically, it is based on individuals’ achieving the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC,) via the WorkKeys assessments. As a result, the data “validates” these work skills within the county or region as a whole. Going further, it means that once achieved, Eau Claire will be designated nationally as a “work ready” community with validated and identifiable workforce skills.

Are there other benefits?

Yes! For students or workers, this skills identifier provides detailed information on their own specific skillset in the world of work. But equally important, for employers, it’s a guide* which can help to match skills with jobs in the workplace.

At the same time, once certified, Work Eau Claire will become the first-ever certified county in the State of Wisconsin!

*Scores may be used as a guide only. In order to require specific scores, employers must complete a “Job Profile.” Contact Work Eau Claire for more information on how to complete a Job Profile project at your place of work!

National Career Readiness Certificate – NCRC

This credential can be earned by completing the ACT “WorkKeys Assessment” at minimum scores. Scores are earned in the following workplace topics: Applied Mathematics, Graphic Literacy, and Workplace Documents.

Why is This Important?

It identifies workplace skills! Resulting scores which can help employers to identify a good career “fit”.*

Prospective or current employees can use this credential to enhance their job seeking efforts!

Is There More?

There is! Students who have completed the ACT WorkKeys® assessments may be eligible to attain free credits at Chippewa Valley Technical College! By reaching minimum score levels, students may be able to earn college credit for “Math Reasoning,” a popular math course for many programs at CVTC.

To find out how to apply for credit, contact Rob Ecker at cpl@cvtc.edu or 715.833.6327.

Does it End There?

Not at all! Businesses and employers benefit too because it helps them increase their success of matching the right skills to the right job! This can be a powerful resource for employers hoping to find resources to guide their hiring.*

In the News!

Collaboration Offers Testing Date

Thanks to the generous support of the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce, the Covid-19 Task Force, CVTC, and Workforce Resource, Inc., a WorkKeys Assessment took place on August, 10, 2020. It was offered at a reduced rate of $20 through their generous support. Thank you!

Course Credit

By reaching minimum scores, students at CVTC may be able to gain credit for Math Reasoning. Numerous students have already taken advantage of this benefit!

CVTC Offers Credit

Two programs at CVTC will be participating in the WorkKeys Assessment process. They include:

1) Culinary Management, and, 2) Library and Information Services. Students will graduate with both their degree diploma as well as WorkKeys scores showing their skills, or an NCRC designations.

Employer Support Metric Reached

Based on specific regional demographics of the workforce, a minimum of 68 employers are required to reach Work Ready certification. Work Eau Claire is pleased to report it has exceeded that number and now stands at 73 supporting employers. These businesses, located in the Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, and Dunn Counties, agree to “recognize” the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) at their place of business. Thank you, employers!

Emerging Workforce Category Metric Met

Made up of primarily high-school aged students, a minimum of 2,398 students must meet the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) credential. Work Eau Claire reports that an actual 4,365 students reached this skill-level status since the inception of the Work Ready effort. Congratulations to all students who have reached this important milestone!

*Scores may be used as a guide only. In order to require specific scores, employers must complete a “Job Profile.” Contact Work Eau Claire for more information on how to complete a Job Profile project at your place of work!