The Career Readiness Certificate Consortium

In January 2004, with leadership from Virginia, seven states (TN, WV, KY, DC, MD, NC and VA) formed the Career Readiness Certificate Consortium (Consortium). No state was asked to contribute funds or in any way commit resources to the effort. The idea of a Consortium was conceived to provide a support mechanism for and practical help to all states, particularly for those just embarking on the project.

The Consortium was comprised of states in very different stages of development of a portable skills credential based on WorkKeys® assessments . For example, Kentucky had been issuing its own Kentucky Employability Certificate for a year, Virginia was quickly advancing to deployment of its Career Readiness Certificate, and Maryland and DC were only just beginning to look at WorkKeys® scores as the language of skill sets. All other states fell somewhere in between.

One benefit that accrued from the Consortium was that speakers from "advanced" states were available to visit key stakeholders in beginning states. Over the next 15 months, Barbara Bolin from Virginia visited and presented on the Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) in many other states, while at the same time participating with an ACT representative to spread the "good news" about WorkKeys® assessments and associated ROI to employers.

By the end of 2004, another 5 states had asked to join the Consortium, and this interest and enthusiasm continued into 2005. At a meeting of the Consortium in May 2007, 14 states were represented. After Barbara Bolin left the Warner administration in 2005, she continued as the Executive Director of the Consortium.

As of August 2010, the total number of states (including DC) in the Consortium is 49. Visit News From The States for details.

States not yet in the matrix are: New Hampshire, and Connecticut.

Since March 2007, the Consortium has been administratively supported by the National Organization for Career Credentialing (www.nationalocc.org)

The matrix below shows the current status (August 2010) of the Consortium. For actual numbers of Certificates awarded, see below and News From The States.

CRC deployed

CRC in progress or issued locally

Interested in CRC

Alabama
Alaska
Arkansas
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Michigan
Missouri
New Mexico
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
South Carolina

South Dakota
Tennessee
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming


23 States

Arizona
Hawaii
Illinois
Iowa
Louisiana

Maine
Massachussets
Nevada
New York
North Dakota
Pennsylvania
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Washington

 

 

 

 

15 States

California
Connecticut
DC
Delaware
Maryland
Minnesota
Mississippi
Montana
Nebraska
New Jersey
Rhode Island

 

 

 

 

 

11 States

Interest in the CRC continues to grow, and new states are frequently added to the matrix. Also of significance is how quickly states are moving from right to left in the matrix!

In September 2006, ACT announced a national CRC initiative. However, i t is important to note that it is NOT necessary to be affiliated with the ACT Certificate initiative in order to issue CRC's in your state or organization. Please contact Barbara Bolin, President of the National Organization for Career Credentialing (www.nationalocc.org) for more details.

In September 2006, The CRC Handbook: Implementing the Career Readiness Certificate was released across the country. An updated and expanded second edition is available at no charge from the NOCC site (www.nationalOCC.org).

Deployment of the CRC is increasing rapidly as states move from the planning stage to issuance. The table below shows the approximate number of CRC's deployed as of August 2010. Several states have not reported recently.

STATE TOTAL BRONZE SILVER GOLD PLATINUM NOTES
AL
29,551

7286

(24%)

16,377

(55%)

5827

(20%)

 61

(0.2%)

  
AK
216
55
117
44
  
Pilot of 11th. graders
AR
16,805
3145
9080
4580
    
CO

 2034

5150

548

1007

1027 

2531

447 

1572

12

40

City of Denver

Statewide
FL
  49,500
8910
26,730
13,860
    
GA
  100,452
26,611
53,409
  19,511
 921
  
IA
1200
   
IN
66,023
-
47,905
18,118
 
KY

7850

        

 
LA
17,566
6061
9088
2417
MI
74,982
16,575 
39,699
18,672
 36
  
MO
 19,431
5549
10,103
3779
  
NC
57,944

14226

(24%)

 32,616

(56%)

11,102

(19%)

  
NM
 5000
   
NY

400

& 126

 

22

 

72

 

33

    
OH
 37,000
   
OK
 44,500

10,728

(24%)

24,125

(54%)

9284

(21%)

 363

(0.8%)
 PA
1349
          
SC
113,688
  38,201  59,407  16,080    
SD
            
TN
>25,000
        
UT

135

11

62

47

  

 
VA
29,011

8207

(28%)

 

15,653

(54%)

 

5151

(18%)

    
VT
            
WA
Several hundred
 
WV

17,761

4252

(24%

10,745

(60%)

2764

(16%)

   Includes data from 2008 pilot sites
WI
 

 
WY
1221
          

TOTAL

(approximate)
 


There is considerable variation on how each state is deploying its credential. In some states, the CRC is state-sanctioned, authorized by the state WIB and signed by the governor. In others, the state technical or community college system is taking the lead. In several states, the initiative is regional or local. Please visit "News From The States" for more details.

Several states are interested in developing a skills bank that not only is a well-constructed MIS for all WorkKeys® data in a state but is also a powerful economic development tool. The North Carolina Community College System has developed a skills bank that is now being offered FREE to any state that wants it! This is a most generous offer from Dr. Stephanie Deese (deeses@nccommunitycolleges.edu).

The key thing in what is fast becoming a national movement is the fact that so many states agree on the following:

1) There is a need for a portable skills credential based on a common language, easily understood by employers, educators, and citizens;
2) This common language should be WorkKeys®;
3) The three WorkKeys® assessments that should form the basis of the credential are Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, and Reading For Information;
4) The credential should be multi-level;
5) The scores for each level should be 3's for Bronze, 4's for Silver, and 5's for Gold. (Note: KY and IN issue only the Silver and Gold levels)

This represents more agreement between states than has been witnessed on almost any other initiative!

The Consortium is supported by the National Organization for Career Credentialing (www.nationalOCC.org)

The NOCC Board of Directors/Officers are:

Dr. Barbara Bolin, Michigan--President/Treasurer

Robin Fiddes, American Packaging Corporation, Texas--Secretary

John S. Palmer, Jr., Michigan

Tim Kelly--Michigan

Dr. Blossom Burton, Transition Youth International, New Jersey

For more information on the Consortium and the NOCC, please contact Barbara Bolin at bolinb@earthlink.net or at 804-310-2552.

Top of Page

© 2005 Career Readiness Certificate Consortium