WorkKeys and the National Career Readiness Certificate
What is the National Career Readiness Certificate?
The NCRC is a certification of foundational skills used most often in the workplace:
- Applied Mathematics
- Reading for Information
- Locating Information
It is awarded at 4 levels:
- Bronze which qualifies the holder for 17% of jobs
- Silver which qualifies the holder for 69% of jobs
- Gold which qualifies the holder for 93% of jobs
- Platinum which qualifies the holder for 99% of jobs
It is a registered, nationally recognized certificate issued by ACT, the same people who do the college entrance exam. Download the following *.pdf files for more information.
wk-brief-keyfacts-foundationalskills
Why do we need this? View this case study from the PBS News Hour.
What is WorkKeys?
WorkKeys is the examination that is taken to obtain the National Career Readiness Certificate. WorkKeys assessments measure skills that employers feel are essential to success in the workplace. Students, job seekers, and seasoned professionals can use WorkKeys to learn more about their strengths and weaknesses and gain a valid way to demonstrate their abilities to employers. Educators and employers can use it to help take the guesswork out of determining student, applicant, and employee qualifications.
Each WorkKeys assessment offers varying levels of difficulty. The levels build on each other, incorporating the skills assessed at the previous levels. For example, at Level 5, individuals need the skills from Levels 3, 4, and 5. The complexity can also increase as the quantity and/or density of the information increases.
Successful completion of WorkKeys assessments in Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, and Reading for Information can lead to earning the National Career Readiness Certificate™ (NCRC®), a portable credential earned by more than 3 million people across the United States. Examinees that complete Spanish-language versions of the assessments are eligible to earn the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate en Español.
