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Give Your Students the Work Ready Advantage
ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate
The ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) is central to ACT Work Ready Communities (WRC) as a measure of a well-rounded community.
The National Career Readiness Certificate is an assessment-based credential powered by WorkKeys. Issued at four levels, the WorkKeys NCRC measures and certifies the essential work skills needed for success in jobs across industries and occupations.
The WorkKeys NCRC is widely used by employers, educators, workforce developers, and others with a stake in the success of the economy. More than 5,889,254 WorkKeys NCRCs have been issued nationwide since the credential was introduced in 2006.
WorkKeys NCRC Highlights
- Awarded at four levels: Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze
- Powered by WorkKeys research-based assessments: Workplace Documents, Graphic Literacy and Applied Math
- Measures and certifies broadly relevant foundational work skills
- Recognized and recommended by thousands of employers
- Recommended for college credit by the American Council on Education. LEARN MORE ABOUT NCRC (PDF)
ACT's Career Report Provides Customized Guidance
An ACT report, The Condition of Career Pathway Readiness in the United States, features information on the skills individuals need to succeed in various careers and “career clusters”—groupings of occupations that can be used by education and training providers to help students in education settings. Its aim is to open opportunities for job seekers and help employers identify high-potential candidates within different career pathways.
Job seekers who’ve taken the ACT WorkKeysAssessments and earned an (NCRC) can compare their scores to the benchmark scores displayed in the report for various career clusters within different education levels. For example, a high school student interested in carpentry can compare their WorkKeys scores to the career pathway benchmarks for entry-level architecture and construction to understand the foundational skills required to succeed in that career cluster. This type of exercise helps high school students and adults understand their career options based on their skills and determine the types of jobs available to them. The report also features the projected number of future job openings and salary information alongside the benchmarks for each of the top occupation openings. A public Tableau dashboard featuring data from the report can be accessed here.
Resources for Educators
Case Studies
ACT WorkKeys Success Story
Industry Readiness Profile
For 16 industries, this in-depth report provides data on:
- Required scores
- Mean annual wages
- Typical education needed
- Total employed people