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Mississippi Career
Readiness Certificate Meeting a Success
On Tuesday August 12th,
the McGowan Workforce Training Center on the
Ridgeland campus of Holmes Community College was the
host of the first meeting for practitioners involved
with Mississippi’s newly launched Career Readiness
Certificate. Over 80 people representing Community
Colleges, Job Centers, Economic Development, Human
Services and Adult Basic Education came from all
parts of the state to participate. The State Board
of Community and Junior Colleges (SBCJC), along with
partners from ACT, KeyTrain and the Council for
Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) organized the
event.
The meeting was a
wonderful opportunity for attendees to learn about
the Mississippi Career Readiness Certificate (CRC)
Initiative and network with others tasked with
implementing the CRC statewide. Dr. Debra West of
the SBCJC greeted the guests and introduced Johnny
Franklin from the Governor’s office. Through Johnny
Franklin, Governor Haley Barbour sent his greetings
and relayed a commitment to supporting workforce
development initiatives that ultimately improve the
quality of life for all Mississippi citizens.
Mark Scott from
Northrop Grumman, Mississippi’s largest private
employer, told the audience of their experience with
WorkKeys and the CRC. He explained how these tools
helped make their company an industry leader and at
the same time solved numerous workforce problems
experienced by all employers. Northrop
Grumman’s enthusiastic support for the CRC program
was quite clear.
Scott also went on to share the many benefits that WorkKeys and the CRC will provide Mississippi
employers as they understand and begin to fully
utilize the system.
Best practices were
shared by Raj Shaunak from East Mississippi CC, Dan
Talley of Meridian CC, Guy Purdy of Northwest
Mississippi CC, Louis Dugas of Copiah-Lincoln CC,
and Dru Morgan of Mississippi Delta CC. These
presentations highlighted the excellent efforts in
integrating WorkKeys and KeyTrain into the
colleges' activities.
A number of colleges
indicated that they have added Locating Information
for the hiring process of teacher assistants.
Because the colleges already requite TA’s to take
WorkKeys Reading for Information, Applied
Mathematics, and Writing, the addition of Locating
Information provides these individuals with the
opportunity to earn a CRC.
Bob Felty from ACT
gave a thorough overview of the CRC and background
on the WorkKeys Employment System, demonstrating why
the CRC based on WorkKeys is the most credible and
valid tool to serve as the nations’s work readiness
credential. Joel Simon from CAEL, gave the
participants valuable tips and ideas on the best
methods of engaging the employers throughout the
state. Rick Harris with KeyTrain gave the group a
short refresher on the use of KeyTrain, stressing
the importance of raising skills as well as
certifying them - with a goal of better jobs with
higher pay and an improved quality of life.
The meeting was a
great success with overwhelmingly positive
feedback.
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