Anyone who needs to complete or repeat the tests for the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) has just this month to do it.
As of October, updated WorkKeys® tests for the NCRC will replace the versions that have been offered by the Wayne Occupational Readiness Keys for Success (WORKS) program.
All three tests required to earn a certificate must be the same version. That gives test-takers through the end of September to take any individual assessments needed to complete the set of three assessments or to retake assessments in an attempt to improve the level (platinum, gold, silver, or bronze) of NCRC that they have already earned.
“If someone has completed one or more of the current assessments, the other assessments must be the same version,” explained Renita Allen Dawson, Wayne Community College’s associate vice president for workforce continuing education. “Both the current and updated versions of the WorkKeys NCRC assessments will be available online this fall.”
“We’ve heard individuals say, ‘I just need to retake one test and I’ll have a silver or a gold certificate’” Dawson said. “This is the perfect time to get that out of the way. If they wait, they will need to start over, taking all three assessments.”
To take the assessments at Wayne Community College, call (919) 739-7004.
Those wishing to prepare for the tests may take advantage of the self-directed instruction and skills upgrade training offered in the WORKS Lab, which also is located in Room 136 of the Walnut Building on the college’s main campus. The lab is open 9 a.m.-noon on Mondays and Thursdays and 1-4 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays. The lab is not open on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Beginning in October, the updated assessments will be Applied Math, which replaces Applied Mathematics, Graphic Literacy, which replaces Locating Information, and Workplace Documents, which replaces Reading for Information.
According to ACT, the company that provides the WorkKeys program, the assessments and credential were updated to “ensure ongoing relevance and alignment to the changing skill requirements of today’s jobs.”
“The updated assessments will continue to measure the same core set of broadly relevant career readiness skills that have historically been measured by the NCRC assessments. The updated credential will continue to be a relieve signal of career readiness, trusted by job seekers, employers, and educators domestically as well as internationally,” the company said in a released statement.
The NCRC is recognized by employers across the state as a proven measurement of job skills. Wayne County leads the state with more than 16,600 certificates awarded. A quarter of the county’s population holds the credential.
WORKS is a collaborative effort of the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce, Wayne Community College, Wayne County Public Schools, County of Wayne, Wayne County Career Center, City of Goldsboro, and the Eastern Carolina Workforce Development Board. It is housed Wayne Community College’s campus in Goldsboro.