NATIONAL CAREER READINESS CERTIFICATE

ACT's National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) is a portable credential that demonstrates achievement and a certain level of workplace employability skills in Applied Mathematics, and Locating Information, and Reading for Information. In the future, ACT Career Credentials powered by ACT WorkKeys is an expanding program that will offer certifications in other areas.

What is NCRC – National Career Readiness Certificate

Individuals can earn the NCRC by taking three WorkKeys® assessments:

1. Applied Mathematics2. Locating Information3. Reading for Information

WorkKeys assessments measure "real world" skills that employers believe are critical to job success. Test questions are based on situations in the everyday work world.

**ACT WorkKeys for Healthcare includes contextualized ACT WorkKeys assessments with questions using language specific to the healthcare industry.

WorkKeys Assessment

Combining measures of cognitive skills with measures of work related behaviors—or soft skills—brings even greater accuracy to predictions about an individual's success at work or in training. In addition to the cognitive skills listed above, the NCRC Plus ranks individuals in the following soft skills categories:

• Work Discipline: Productivity and dependability• Teamwork: Tolerance, communication, and attitude• Customer Service Orientation: Interpersonal skills and

perseverance• Managerial Potential: Persuasion, enthusiasm, and problem

solving

NCRC offers the efficient matching of talent with work—which helps people find great jobs, companies find skilled workers, and our nation's economy grow and prosper. Launched in 2006, today more than 1.7 million certificates have been issued and more than 40 states have statewide or regional certificate programs.

Benefit of NCRC Certification

The WorkKeys Talent Assessment measures these facets of personality:

Carefulness—tendency to think and plan carefully before acting or speaking.Cooperation—tendency to be likable and cordial in interpersonal situations.Creativity—tendency to be imaginative and to think "outside the box."Discipline—tendency to be responsible, dependable, and follow through with tasks

without becoming distracted or bored.Goodwill—tendency to be forgiving and to believe that others are well intentioned.Influence—tendency to impact and dominate social situations by speaking without

hesitation and often becoming a group leader.Optimism—tendency toward having a positive outlook and confidence in successful

outcomes.Order—tendency to be neat and well organized.Savvy—tendency to read other people's motives, understand office politics, and

anticipate the needs and intentions of others.Sociability—tendency to enjoy being in other people's company and to work with

others.Stability—tendency to maintain composure and rationality in situations of actual or

perceived stress.Striving—tendency to have high aspiration levels and to work hard to achieve goals.

Soft Skills Talent Assessment

ACT has tracked the skill needs of the American workforce for more than 20 years while compiling the world’s most extensive job skills database. ACT is reporting these data to help redefine crucial skill sets, map out how American businesses can succeed, and help employees stay competitive in a global job market.

Why Choose a 3rd Party Vendor

• Program designed to prepare graduates for the workplace• Integrated into each field of study offered at BSC• 2 in 1 program – degree plan and Employability Program• Based on needs of employment community

Why Incorporate into Employability Program?

ePortfolioAssessmentsNCRC CertsInternship

Recommendations

SOSC225Applied Math

Locating informationReading for informationTalent Assessment Again

SOSC105Talent

Assessment*Identify Strengths and

skill developmentneeds

InternshipAssessment results

used in class

When Will the Assessments Occur?

National Career Readiness Certification• Team Work

• Tolerance ; Communication; Attitude• Customer Service Orientation

• Interpersonal Skills and Perseverance• Managerial Potential

• Enthusiasm; Problem Solving; Persuasion• Work Discipline

• Productivity and Dependability

NCRC Emphasis

• Students take the WorkKeys Personality Assessment

• Integrate results within course

• Instructors create assignments applicable to results

Students can earn the NCRC by taking three WorkKeys® assessments:

1. Applied Mathematics

2. Locating Information

3. Reading for Information

• Students integrate results of three WorkKeys assessment in instructor designed assessment

• Integration of results in ePortfolio

SOSC225 InternshipSOSC105

Coursework

National Career Readiness Certification Criteria

National Career Readiness Certification Criteria ACT Assessment InstrumentKey Capabilities Literacy;

-information, -technology, -financial

NCRC 1. Locating information2. Reading for information

Team Work Tolerance Communication Attitude

NCRC Plus and Talent Assessment

Customer Service Orientation Interpersonal Skills Perseverance

NCRC Plus and Talent Assessment

Managerial Potential Enthusiasm Problem Solving Persuasion

NCRC Plus and Talent Assessment

NCRC1. Applied Mathematics

Work Discipline Productivity Dependability

NCRC Plus and Talent Assessment

Employability Program Process

Segment 1 – Students will:

Segment 2Students will:

Complete a workplace readiness evaluation and build a development plan based upon opportunities revealed through the evaluation instrument

Consider critical thinking and problem solving

Identify and evaluate information and convert the findings into written and verbal communication

Use and apply mathematical reasoning to draw conclusions and make decisions

Begin to develop their portfolio and investigate the many skills features career support options available through the electronic portfolio

Explore the job search process and continue to build the components of the portfolio with specific attention to accumulating evidence of knowledge, skills and abilities

Learn how to manage student loans while in school

Establish professional and financial goals

Consider the connection between elements of Segment 1, how they related to each other and link to the degree plan and chosen profession

Consider and articulate the connections between elements of Segment 2, how they relate to each other and Segment 1, and how they link to the degree plan and chosen profession; affirm continued soft skill development

Segment 3Students will:

Segment 4Students will:

Focus on interpersonal skills including perseverance, tolerance, communication and attitude

Focus on dependability and productivity in the workplace

Develop strategies for self-efficacy

Consider their role in a professional environment from an ethical, environmental and global perspective

Customizing their portfolio to prepare for an internship opportunity or capstone experience with specific attention to articulating workplace readiness

Participate in mock interview and assess readiness to enter the workplace environment as related to the internship or capstone experience

Explore financial saving goals and opportunities and personal finance planning

Earn a career readiness rating through a nationally normed evaluation

Articulate the connections between elements of Segment 3, how they relate to each other and Segment 1 and 2, and how they link to the career search process and chosen profession; continue to affirm continued soft skill development

Articulate the connections between elements of Segment 4, how they relate to each other and Segment 1,2, and 3 relative to growth and development and linkages to the career search process and chosen profession; fully affirm soft skill development as related to career readiness and life-long learning

Sample Questions

Sample NCRC Talent and WorkKeys Assessment Questions

Talent Assessment

Level 3 Sample:In your job as a cashier, a customer gives you a $20 bill to pay for a can of coffee that costs $3.84. How much change

should you give back?1. $15.262. $16.163. $16.264. $16.845. $17.16

Why this is a Level 3 item:• Examinees must perform a single subtraction operation.• Numbers are presented in the logical order ($20 – $3.84).• Number of dollars must be converted to a decimal (dollars and cents: $20.00).

Level 4 Sample:Over the last 5 days, you made the following numbers of sales calls: 8, 7, 9, 5, and 7. On the average, how many calls

did you make each day?1. 5.82. 7.03. 7.24. 9.05. 36.0

Why this is a Level 4 item:• There is more than one step of logic and calculation.• Examinees must divide using positive numbers.• Examinees must figure out averages.

Applied Mathematics – Levels 3-7

For more samples, click here:http://act.org/workkeys/assess/

Results

Results• Certificates are mailed to students• Students retain certificates