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Officials say new Web curriculum, test to prove job seekers have essential skills Friday, Apr 27, 2007 By Jason Wiest Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - A new statewide Web-based curriculum will prepare Arkansans for a career readiness assessment, the results of which will be certified by Gov. Mike Beebe and can be shown to employers, official said Thursday. "We kept hearing repeatedly from employers that they had a strong need for skilled workers and some way to demonstrate that those workers are skilled," said Cindy Varner, assistant director of the state Department of Workforce Services. The curriculum and assessment teach and gauge one's skill level in reading for information, applied mathematics and locating information - foundational workplace skills as defined by ACT, the same non-profit organization that provides a college entrance exam. "Our goal is to enhance our work force development efforts by providing Arkansas employers with highly skilled workers," Varner said. The Department of Workforce Services and the Arkansas Workforce Investment Board announced Thursday they awarded a contract to Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Thinking Media Inc. to assist in the statewide implementation of the career readiness certificate program in Arkansas. Work force and education entities in Arkansas have already started using the KeyTrain curriculum, software and management system, Varner said, which is produced by Thinking Media and prepares users for the WorkKeys assessment developed by ACT. The interactive, computer-based software features a natural voice for all lessons, which helps if student have difficulty reading, Varner said. All 50 states use the WorkKeys program to some degree, Thinking Media President Sheila Boyington said, while 14 states use it statewide. While the skills are basic high-school curriculum, Varner said, the assessment does not necessarily target high school drop-outs. "If you don't use those skills, sometimes you lose them," she said. "It's a way to reinforce them or demonstrate to employers that they possess them." The Department of Workforce Services is working to identify locations for the assessment to be taken, Varner said, noting that it will most likely be at two-year colleges and that the assessment will be administered by college personnel. She anticipated the first certificates would be awarded this summer. Successful students will exit the program with a bronze, silver or gold certificate to resent to employers who demand such skills. Varner would not say which employers were interested in the assessment. The workforce investment board and DWS paid slightly more than $400,000 for the KeyTrain software, which allows for as many as 300,000 users per year and includes 6,000 assessments. The state has a lifetime license to use the software, Varner said. |
