The local unemployment office is making me jump through some hoops to keep getting their bucks, the most recent hoop being a session where they described many of the services they offer to unemployed folks.
And they were really big on this new thing – the National Career Readiness Certificate. It is offered by ACT, the college testing company, and is designed to show employers that you have mastered certain skill sets that you need to competently perform many jobs.
The guy told us that “many” large employers were now using it as a screening tool, but the list they put up showed only about 5 or 6 names, only a couple of which I recognized.
And what I’m really wondering is, is this something that ACT has whipped up to attract state money so these agencies can document another program to help their clients, but has no real world meaning? You get this shiny diploma thingy, and you get shinier ones for scoring higher, and is that it? A Google search for it comes up with a bunch of state and federal offices that tout it, but not a single employer, at least among the first couple of pages of results.
So anyway, I decided to do it, 'cause I have lots of free time and it doesn’t cost me anything. The state unemployment office has a contract with ACT to run people though the tests. I took a series of practice tests online at home, but to get the certificate I have to go in and spend most of a day taking a proctored exam.
I wanted to bump this poor responseless thread and ask if anyone else has encountered this or a similar qualification. This seems to be a big thing that is often touted by unemployment agencies. My state, Virginia, appears to have a qualification called the “Virginia Career Readiness Certificate” that is similar if not identical to the “National” one. They say it’s equivalent and should be cross-recognized.
I looked into these qualifications it and it seems more oriented toward low-wage and or blue collar workers where high literacy and mathematical skills can’t always be taken for granted. For example, the “He’s a good carpenter on the job and can get the nails in acceptably but if I leave him a parts catalog he can’t figure out how to mail order 400 #3 nails and have them at the Decatur warehouse by next Tuesday. He gets confused and sends the order slip to the wrong address, fails to include the check, or doesn’t indicate the shipping address and stuff gets messed up.” syndrome. Has anyone here taken it? Does it help “get your foot in the door” in any meaningful way? Does this qualification have any more than trivial value for white-collar university graduates? I looked at some sample questions and it seems that you’d pretty much have to have these skills in order to graduate from a university at all. Hiring managers, would you consider having one of these as enough of a plus that you could ever see yourself taking a NCRC certified person over a non-certified person that otherwise looks like a better match?
To extend the question, are you aware of any case where you or someone you know feels that even though they may never have gotten a job, gotten a promotion, or kept a job specifically because a Career Readiness Certificate is on their resume (i.e. having the paper qualification), they nonetheless feel that going through the process of getting one helped them somehow in their career, for example by giving them knowledge or skills that they later used in a job interview or on the job, or by identifying skill or knowledge gaps that they later filled in by reading books or taking classes elsewhere? E.g. John works for CompuGlobalHyperMegaNet which does not use the NCRC for any personnel decisions (i.e. if you put it on a resume they will ignore it), but he nonetheless goes through the program and discovers that he has a deficiency or serious area of growth in reading comprehension. He registers for a class at the local community college and improves his skills, later landing a promotion because his supervisor sees a concrete improvement in on-the-job performance.
I agree with the OP as it relates to search hits. Searching for this turns up links to ACT as well as workforce development/unemployment assistance sites run by various US states, as well as pages run by community colleges who offer career training programs. I don’t see many instances of third-party discussions of the merits of at NCRC vs nothing vs another program. I can’t remember ever seeing a job description where the hiring manager mentioned an NCRC as either required or desired.
I never heard of it until today, but I am not an HR person or recuriter. I work in an area where a college degree is considered a minimum requirement, so the certificate as described would not cut the mustard - anothe reason I would not have heard of it, even if it’s widely accepted in place of a HS diploma or CLEP or whatever.
My deeply cynical nature tells me this is snake oil, an invention of some con artist to siphon taxpayer dollars by appealing to squishy minded lawmakers who want to look like they are doing something BECAUSE JOBS!
My two cents: unless your state has contracted or partnered with companies through economic development activities and incentives hinged on the acceptance of recognizing the credential; this is one of those good ideas that is poorly executed.
To be frank, I do not know enough to know if there are any states that have done this correctly. But I know Colorado has not. Workforce centers push it, but not many employers embrace it. So, I would go ahead and give into your cynical side of thinking of this as an ACT revenue stream. Please note, though, that I have tangential knowledge and do not work directly with this workforce tool.
I’m not saying it’s equivalent to a college degree. There is no requirement to write a coherent essay, no requirement to regurgitate basic scientific “facts”, nor a requirement to understand the scientific process.
I first heard of the NCRC in a want-ad asking for at least a bronze level. I googled it and found out bronze level is the lowest level. It goes up to platinum. Since 2011 my state of Oregon has given out about 23,500. Over half of the certificates they hand out are silver, a little over a third are gold, about ten percent get bronze, and a little over one percent get platinum.
I am signed up to take the tests a week from tomorrow. I have a full-time job, but I am also a college dropout and I’m looking for a better one. I have mostly worked blue collar jobs. It might not give me a boost, but I don’t think it can hurt me either.
I don’t know about any of the specific certificates mentioned above.
At the Fresno Adult School, they have some kind of pre-employment readiness class, that mostly teaches basic job-hunting skills. The certificate says “30 Hour Pre-Employment Preparation Program”. It’s really just a pre-requisite for any of their other vocational classes where you actually learn some useful job skill beyond how to tie your shoes for the interview.
I took the test. They award you your certificate based on your lowest score, e.g. have to get at least a six on all three tests to get platinum. I got a five and two sevens. I got a gold. The test I scored the lowest is widely considered the hardest one- locating information. I got a perfect score on applied mathematics. I believe I only missed one hard question on the reading for information, although I wasn’t shown which questions I got right or wrong.
They were supposed to email me a user name and password, so I could log in and let potential employers see my results. I haven’t got an email yet, two days later. I’m not sure who to contact to get it- the people who make the test or the people that administered it. They have my correct email and meat world addresses.
Amazing I started this three years ago and it’s back like the walking dead. I did take the test, and got a gold. And in all those three years since, I have yet to encounter a single employer who asked about it, advertised it, or mentioned it at all.
Never heard of it. Many companies use their own tests to determine the suitability of applicants and aren’t likely to accept results from an outside source anyway. Companies don’t assume a high school degree means you have any certain level of skills either, they usually don’t even have a reason for making it a requirement. Seems like an enormous waste of time. I can see an employment agency using this as a very basic screening tool, but that’s about it.
This thread is mostly just speculative. It’s a real thing, not some gimmick.
Oregon has a list of 300+ employers (at the time of this writing) who use the certificate. There was/is an Excel file on the WorkSource Oregon site that lists them. Oregon was paying for the tests as of this writing, normally around $70 total IIRC. You spend about 6 hours total with breaks and an intro session.
The test questions get progressively harder and you have 55 minutes to complete each section. Some of the information-gathering questions are tricky, so you have to spend as little time as possible on the easy ones. If you don’t study for the tests you may not do so well unless you’re a good bit brighter than average.
Anyone who wants to learn about it can just go to the main ACT site or a local “affiliate.” It can’t claim to get you automatically hired. It’s just something that can help you stand out even if an employer doesn’t officially use it.
That specific search string is hardly definitive. Try this type of search and you’ll get hits:
“list of employers” “National Career Readiness Certificate”
Dig around at local agencies and you’ll find more lists. Google can’t find everything on local sites, and how you type a search string is critical.
I’m replying to this thread because it’s just loose speculation on this topic. I took the test(s) to boost my resume after a layoff. It’s much easier and cheaper (free in my case) than going back to school for a 6 month or 1 year certificate in a specialized field which may or may not have jobs available. Many people go back to school as more of a gesture than a real goal.
I see the NCRC as a minor version of the SAT that can help if you find an avenue for it. It at least shows some initiative.
There are no employers that advertise for the “National Career Readiness Certificate”
There are no popular employment related websites that mention the “National Career Readiness Certificate”
There are no 3rd party statistics for the “National Career Readiness Certificate”
Only the corporation “Act, Inc” has data points and statistics…which are not substantiated. Act, Inc owns the “National Career Readiness Certificate” and it is Act, Inc’s product: Privacy Policy | ACT
Over the course of 3+ years, 10 individuals indicate they never heard of it, companies not using it, and pretty much worthless.
Over the course of 3+ years one individual signs up with this website to make the only two posts of his/her life defending Act, Inc and the “National Career Readiness Certificate.”
Act, Inc is a government contractor, contracted with many state unemployment agencies.
Various states pay public funds Act, Inc to administer the “National Career Readiness Certificate.”
While Act, Inc and the “National Career Readiness Certificate” websites have a .org address, the Non-profit IRS declarations are not available. No one knows where they get there money from, nor where it goes, yet their .org address implies they are a non-profit.
Act, Inc runs the very popular college standardized test known as the ACT which has run for decades.
Demand for the ACT college standardized test is individuals, paid by individuals, in order for admission to a college.
Demand for the “National Career Readiness Certificate” is from state government unemployment departments, paid by state funds, in order to assist the unemployed with employment.
Act, Inc pays people to conduct research on their products, then quotes the research.
So, knowing all that - it is credible that the “National Career Readiness Certificate”-
was sold to many states, likening it to their popular “ACT test” for college
Has zero demand and use for employers - but then again if you follow the money the National Career Readiness Certificate is driven by States not employers…
The National Career Readiness Certificate is profitable for Act, Inc, since it is not tied to market forces, just state government budgeting.
If no one gets a job from the National Career Readiness Certificate that is fine, since the State is paying the bill, and Act, Inc can pay PhD’s to publish research saying it helps people get jobs.
If no employer uses the National Career Readiness Certificate that is fine, since the State is paying the bill, and Act, Inc can pay PhD’s to publish research saying all these employers use it.
Act, Inc is a very large and powerful corporation, has been for decades. They can pay reputation firms and contractors to counter online negative posts about the National Career Readiness Certificate.
Note: by all means if anyone wants to refute any facts, or opinions, please do so! (But know this: Act, Inc sponsored “research” or data will not be accepted - only 3rd party - if it exists)
Snake oil or not, I think it’s a damn good idea in theory. Anything to separate “career readiness” measurements from “college graduation” measurements is a good thing in my view. It should be that someone who never went to college but scores well on a test like this is known by employers to be “career ready.” And it should be that someone who went to college but scores poorly on a test like this is known by employers not to be “career ready.” But the way things are often currently done, college graduation is used as a proxy for career readiness. Bad idea. Bad for colleges, and bad for employers and bad for students and employees.
I often have terrorized fantasies about what I would do if I were laid off. In my field, there is very little chance I could find employment elsewhere. I would have to change careers. And unfortunately, having a PhD (especially in the humanities) is more likely to hurt your chances of getting a job under those circumstances.
But if I could go down to the unemployment office and take a test that shows I can score Platinum on a measure of “career readiness,” I’d strongly consider putting that on a resume if I thought employers would have any idea what I was talking about. Because it could offset the negative associations of a humanities PhD. It could show that I can actually do shit and learn on the job.
Yes, in theory it’s a good idea. But in practice it’s meaningless unless employers buy into the idea, and after several years, it seems like almost none have. In the meantime, state governments already strapped for cash are blowing unknown big wads of bucks paying ACT to give this test to unemployed people to no perceptible benefit. It’s not as bad as forcing them to undergo drug testing, I suppose, but you have to take at least half a day to do it. At least withdfrug testing, you can piss in a cup and be done.
I searched Monster.com for “Career Readiness Certificate” and found a grand total of six results. Most of these were industrial jobs far away from where I live. Try it yourself.
It seems that the CRC and its WorkKeys exams are supposed to be an effort toward so-called Skills-Based Hiring, where the idea is instead of relying on fuzzy, subjective interviews/reference checks or academic degree programs with tangential relevancy, employers will establish cutoff scores on exams and/or rank candidates by exam score and then hire off the top, and interviews and reference checks will fade into the background and become more of a basic-background check thing (e.g., make sure the candidate isn’t a complete boor, pervert, or antisocial lunatic).
It seems that the concept is similar to Competency-Based Education. The idea is that no matter what you’ve done, if you have somehow gained knowledge, skills, or experience, even in a non-traditional way, you should be able to get that knowledge, etc. assessed and be given appropriate credentials and certifications.
These sort of practices could also be a boon for “overqualified” people. Lost your job as an Software Technical Architect and can’t find another, or don’t want the stress? Take the Tier 1 Helpdesk Qualification Exam, blow it away with your uber-leet IT skillz, and start your new job. HR doesn’t immediately filter you out as “overqualified” because you jump to the top of the stack based on your exam scores.
“Want to be a Floor Manager at BigStore? Get at least a Gold Career Readiness Certificate, a 90 on the Retail Workers Aptitude Test (RWAT), at least an 85 on the Retail Manager Qualification Battery, and a 75 on the Second Edition of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s Career Problem Solving Assessment Exam (MCC-CPSAE-2), and you will be ranked based on a weighted average of your scores with the RMQB weighted double, and we will hire off the top pending brief background checks.”