Workforce Assessments
About the North Carolina Career Readiness Certification
Did you know you can certify your current skill level? We offer certification programs employers are looking for right now! This is a great way to excel your work search and boost your resume. For more information, contact Kimberly Pace with R3 Career Services at Cassandra.Barrier@rccc.edu.
Career Readiness Certification
Your parents and grandparents likely worked for one or two employers over the course of their career. In the past, company loyalty was expected from workers and workers were rewarded with a “job for life” — or at least a sizable chunk of life. Today, the average worker changes jobs four to six times over the course of his or her career. Lifelong learning is essential in order to grow and change with the times. Employees must continually build their skills in order to be successful in today’s market. Preparing for and achieving career readiness certification is an effective way to build skills and gain a nationally recognized credential that acts as proof of that skill.
Career readiness certification (CRC) was developed by ACT, Inc to help employees gain skills and to help employers make better decisions during the hiring process. The state of North Carolina issues career readiness certificates to individuals who have taken the WorkKeys tests and tested at or above the third WorkKeys level on all three tests. In North Carolina, there are three career readiness certification levels: bronze, silver and gold.
Career Readiness Certification in North Carolina
Bronze
The bronze level signifies that, based on the individual’s scores on the WorkKeys test, the recipient of the of the certification possesses skills for approximately 30% of jobs that have been profiled by WorkKeys in three specific skill areas: applied mathematics, locating information and reading for information (source). To obtain a bronze level certification, the student must achieve the third WorkKeys level on all three WorkKeys tests.
Silver
The silver level signifies that, based on the individual’s scores on the WorkKeys test, the recipient of the of the certification possesses skills for approximately 65% of jobs that have been profiled by WorkKeys in three specific skill areas: applied mathematics, locating information and reading for information (source). To obtain a silver level certification, the student must achieve the fourth WorkKeys level on all three WorkKeys tests.
Gold
The gold level signifies that, based on the individual’s scores on the WorkKeys test, the recipient of the of the certification possesses skills for approximately 85% of jobs that have been profiled by WorkKeys in three specific skill areas: applied mathematics, locating information and reading for information (source). To obtain a gold level certification, the student must achieve the fifth WorkKeys level on all three WorkKeys tests.
Benefits of North Carolina Career Readiness Certification
Since North Carolina began conferring career readiness certifications, employers have said that training time has decreased, recruiting time has decreased and surveys of employees have found that employees are more satisfied. Rowan-Cabarrus Community College has contributed to this success by being a leader in the state on the number of certifications issued.
What are the benefits for an individual?
- CRC increases your chances for employment and promotion.
- CRC focuses on employment-related competencies needed in any career.
- CRC provides training to help you obtain certification.
- CRC is a portable credential recognized by employers.
- CRC builds confidence that skills meet the needs of local employers.
What are the benefits for employers?
- CRC increases your bottom line through your employees.
- CRC simplifies hiring by streamlining the application process.
- CRC reduces turnover, overtime, and waste while increasing morale.
- CRC takes the guesswork out of your selection decisions.
- CRC establishes legal defensibility in your selection process.
- CRC assists you to meet ISO 9000 standards and ensure quality business practices.
- CRC gets the most efficiency from your training practices.
- CRC improves the effectiveness of your training dollars.
What are the benefits for the community?
- CRC encourages businesses to stay in the community.
- CRC keeps employers from moving entry-level jobs to other cities, states or countries.
- CRC increases the tax base through more profitable business partners.
- CRC decreases unemployment rates.
- CRC improves the quality of life for community residents.
- CRC encourages new businesses to locate to the community.