Employer Toolkit
Job Profiling: Matching Skills to Jobs
Just ask any business leader: skill shortages are an expensive, time-wasting barrier to effective hiring and training. How can employers determine which individuals are the best fit for highly skilled positions, or which workers are the top candidates to receive job-specific training?
This is why nearly 75 percent of businesses use job profiling—the process of analyzing the skills needed for job tasks—in their recruiting and hiring practices, according to a recent study by Society for Human Resource Management and ACT. With job profiling:
- Employers can identify skills and skill levels current and prospective employees need in order to be successful on the job.
- Individuals can compare their skill levels to those needed for jobs.
- Trainers and trainees can make appropriate decisions about jobs, identify strengths, and set training goals.
Reynolds American uses WorkKeys for pre-employment testing at its North Carolina and Tennessee facilities, identifying the skill levels critical to performance for jobs and implementing assessments to find individuals who can fill those roles. “Being trained as an ACT WorkKeys profiler has helped Reynolds American, Inc., better incorporate WorkKeys in our hiring, promotion, and training practices,” said Barbara R. Carter, Director, HRBP, Operations at Reynolds American. “We were also able to successfully align the pre-hire assessment capabilities at all five of our manufacturing locations.”
Become an ACT WorkKeys Profiler
A key to building a stronger workforce is assessing capabilities of workers and potential workers, and if workforce skills are found to be lacking, to provide opportunities for growth. As a WorkKeys Profiler you will help employers identify the skills needed for their jobs and create an additional revenue stream for your organization. Depending upon the local market, profilers can usually cover the one-time training fee and the annual software license fee by conducting one to two profiles annually.
WorkKeys Profiling training is a combination of distance learning activities and webcasts, and culminates with an online simulation to practice and grow your skills. Registration for the next profiling training workshop closes September 12, 2025. For a limited time, the fee to participate in the Virtual WorkKeys Profiling training program is discounted at 50% off the regular price for qualified applicants. Contact ACT for eligibility (jpanswers@act.org or 319-337-1724).
ACT, Inc. is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for the SHRM-CP* or SHRM-SCP*. ACT WorkKeys Profiling Training is valid for 15.0 PDCs for the SHRM-CP* or SHRM-SCP*. For more information about SHRM certification or recertification, please visit www.shrm.org
ACT has aggregated national job profile WorkKeys data by common occupations in high demand industry clusters.
This information should be used only as a guide.
Verify A Certificate
If the individual has made their ACT WorkKeys NCRC information searchable for an employer, you may verify the level with ACT. To verify the ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate (ACT WorkKeys NCRC) level of potential or current employees, enter the registration number here. The ACT WorkKeys NCRC registration number may be found on the front of the certificate as shown:
Browse the WorkKeys Applied Math, Graphic Literacy, and Workplace Documents required for more than 400 different jobs.
Occupational Skill Level Info
Browse the Occupational profiles to better understand the alignment between WorkKeys scores and occupational profiles.
Employer Directory
Find out which organizations are using the WorkKeys NCRC to pinpoint applicants with essential, verifiable workplace skills.
29244Employers recognize the ACT WorkKeys NCRC
