NCCER and ACT Partner to Build Construction Industry Careers
March 12, 2010
IOWA CITY, IA and GAINESVILLE, FL—ACT, Inc.,
and The National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) have
announced a partnership designed to provide a common entry point to construction
industry careers.
ACT will apply its research and workforce
readiness solutions to assist NCCER in ensuring that prospective and current
construction industry workers have the essential foundational skills to succeed
in NCCER accredited training courses and on the job.
Once launched, NCCER will begin issuing
National Career Readiness Certificates to trainees to document their
foundational skills. The National Career Readiness Certificate is comprised of
three of ACT’s WorkKeys assessments measuring skills that ACT
research has shown to be essential to workplace success. The assessments include
Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics, and Locating Information. Based on
these WorkKeys scores, NCCER trainees may earn a National Career Readiness
Certificate. This Certificate serves as a nationwide entry point for further
training. It is a credential that is portable, verifiable and easily understood.
More than 1,200 construction sector jobs have been analyzed by ACT-trained
profilers. The recommended skill levels for these jobs are included in ACT’s
JobPro database.
NCCER, founded in 1996 as a not-for-profit
education foundation, is the leading source of workforce development resources
for the construction and maintenance industry. The NCCER processes of
accreditation, instructor certification, standardized curriculum, national
registry, assessment and certification are key components of the industry’s
workforce development efforts.
NCCER president Don Whyte stated, “As the
economy rebounds, many construction jobs with excellent salaries will need
qualified applicants. These tough economic times call for clear pathways to help
new and transitioning workers prepare for jobs in construction. The
accreditation system we’ve built at NCCER offers just that, but too many of our
trainees and workers simply can’t succeed in the coursework if their
foundational learning and workplace skills are lacking. The WorkKeys assessments
ACT has built and refined over almost twenty years of solid research in the
workplace will help indicate that our trainees are ready and able to succeed.
The assessments and the National Career Readiness Certificate provide a
consistent measure of skill levels, and help identify specific training
needs.”
ACT Workforce Division president & COO
Martin Scaglione stated, “Construction industry employers who sponsor NCCER
training for their workers can be confident that individuals who earn the
National Career Readiness Certificate from ACT will have the core foundational
and learning skills they need to begin successful career paths in the industry.
Plus, the Certificate is valuable as a common standard of measurement for
assessing the foundational skill levels of workers transitioning from other
occupations to careers in construction.”
Individuals may qualify for one of four
levels of the National Career Readiness Certificate: Platinum, Gold, Silver and
Bronze. For more information about the Certificate and the assessments, go to www.act.org/certificate.
NCCER has more than 600 accredited training
sponsors, 400 accredited assessment centers, 4,200 certified Master Trainers and
40,000 certified Craft Instructors nationwide. NCCER president Whyte said, “Once
we have the program fully launched, our sponsors will see real benefits from
this initiative. I am confident that our instructors and trainees will recognize
the value of this clearly defined entry point as a way to help our industry face
today’s challenging globalization, and the need for workers who can master the
technologically sophisticated equipment essential to our industry.”
Scaglione added, “We are very excited about
this relationship with NCCER. The National Career Readiness Certificate is the
common denominator that is missing from so many career pathway structures. As
NCCER begins integrating ACT solutions into its already established curricula
for craft accreditation, we anticipate opportunities for additional assessments,
joint research, and policymaking initiatives to help America’s workers
succeed.”
About NCCER
NCCER is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3)
education foundation created by the construction industry to develop
standardized curriculum with portable credentials and to help address the
skilled construction workforce shortage. NCCER is recognized by the industry as
the training, assessment, certification, and career development standard for the
construction and maintenance craft professional. For more information, visit www.nccer.org.
About ACT
Founded in 1959, ACT is a not-for-profit
organization dedicated to helping people achieve education and workplace
success. ACT provides a broad array of assessments, research, information, and
program management solutions in the areas of education and workforce
development. Each year, ACT serves millions of people—nationally and
internationally—in middle and high schools, colleges, professional associations,
businesses, and government agencies. For more information about ACT, visit www.act.org.
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