Steve Anderson / Regional Manager ACT Workforce Development Division

1. Oklahoma Career Readiness Certificate Employer Engagement Strategies Steve Anderson / Regional Manager ACT Workforce Development Division 563.391.3742 steve.anderson@act.org

2. Agenda • Creating awareness: Targeted audiences • Establishing the need: What’s in it for me? • Employer Messaging • Best practices & Resources • Open discussion

3. A “Ready for Work” Skills Currency

4. Employer Engagement: The Key to Sustaining the Oklahoma CRC • No one questions the importance associated with employer adoption of the Oklahoma CRC. • All recognize that the Oklahoma CRC exists in a traditional supply & demand market. • So the questions include: • - How do we engage employers? • - How can the certificate be used by employers? • - Why should employers want to be engaged – how • does the Oklahoma CRC fit into their priorities?

5. Creating Awareness: Researching Targeted Audiences • Employer-based organizations: • Chambers of Commerce • Industry-based associations • Professional associations: ASTD / SHRM • Local Economic Development Offices • Community-based organizations • Small business associations • Fraternal organizations

6. Creating Awareness: Other Contacts / Activities • Workforce / Economic Development Conferences • Community Job Fairs • Labor Organizations: Apprenticeship programs • Business - Education Associations • Business publications • Regional Oklahoma CRC Consortiums*

7. Establishing the Need: Why should employers want to be engaged? • Employer reports on workforce readiness indicate a • real concern about skill shortages in the areas of: • Critical thinking / problem solving • Communications • Professionalism/work ethic • Creativity/innovation • Basic employability skills • In particular, employers indicate necessity for • better cognitive skills: Apply what you’ve learned.

8. Employer Messaging • What is the Oklahoma CRC? • The Oklahoma Career Readiness Certificate is a reliable • predictor of job performance • Based on assessments that measure applied skills • Certificate of achievement vs. completion • What does it do? • Certifies an individual’s employability skills: Capacity to learn • Aligns requisite skills to job specifications • Provides an additional tool for making hiring decisions

9. Employer Messaging • How do employers use the OK CRC? • Request CRC (not levels) in employment ads • Use in conjunction with other hiring/selection criteria • Reference Oklahoma Job Link for CRC earners • How much will this cost? • Testing, KeyTrain skills training and certificates are • sponsored by the state of Oklahoma. • Additional WorkKeys assessments / services not • associated with OK CRC (workkeys.com)

10. Other Frequently Asked Questions • Why are these 3 assessments used? • What other companies are using it? • What kind of results are they seeing? • Do other states use this program? • What is the preferred certificate level for my jobs? • Does the CRC have a soft-skill component?

11. Oklahoma Best Practices • Programs / Websites: • - OK CRC Blog site • - OK Certified Work Ready Communities • - Career Tech / Career and Academic Connections • - Oklahoma Job Links / OK Career Information • State sponsored Job Profiling programs • OK CRC wallet cards • CRC Advisory Committee / Research Committee • WorkKeys testing accommodations DVD • and more……………………..

12. Shared Best Practices • Regional CRC consortiums: • Employers, educators, economic developers • Quarterly meetings • Shared labor shed data base • Monthly newsletter • Annual State CRC Conference • Employer ROI / Case Study portfolio • State-based CRC videos / power points • Employer Occupational Alignment search engine

13. CRC Resources • WorkKeys: www.workkeys.com • - Assessments, Job Analysis, Gap training • - Employer / Education / Community case studies • - Occupational Profiles / Skill Comparison Charts • National Career Readiness: act.org/certificate • WorkKeys Private User Marketing site: • act.org/workkeys/edmarketing/ • UID: WorkKeys Password: administrator • KeyTrain: www.keytrain.com

14. Oklahoma Career Readiness Certificate Employer Engagement Strategies ?Questions? ACT Workforce Development Division Steve Anderson / Regional Manager 563.391.3742 steve.anderson@act.org ----------------------------------- Jamee Pugh / Sales Associate 319.337.1710

15. Essential Skillsbased on Analysis of 5,760 JobsSeptember 2003 to August 2008 Locating Information (84.9%) 4,892 Reading for Information (80.5%) 4,637 Applied Mathematics (74.6%) 4,298 Observation (69.6%) 4,008 2,170 Teamwork 1,058 Applied Technology 996 Writing 814 Listening 382 Business Writing Career Readiness Certificate Skills

16. US Certificate Programs

17. Silver 4 4 4 Gold 5 5 5 Oklahoma Career Readiness Certificate Levels & Employability Bronze - Core employability skills for approximately 30% of the jobs • Core employability skills for approximately 65% of the jobs • Core employability skills for approximately 90% of the jobs 3 3 3

18. O*Net – CRC Skill Alignments

19. Performance:Pre-employment assessment to screen candidates who may engage in counterproductive work behaviors. Talent:Measures a full spectrum of personality characteristics that are relative to key workplace outcomes. Fit:Measures work-relevant interests and values to match an applicant to specific jobs within an organization.