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Tennessee and ACT WorkKeys

Partners in College and Career Success
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Partner with ACT to Ensure Tennessee Students are the best success story yet

The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) has approved and will completely fund ACT® WorkKeys® as a career readiness assessment for all Tennessee high school seniors.*

*Refer to Tennessee Promoted Student Industry Credentials link below
 
For decades, WorkKeys has helped measure workplace skills that employers are seeking—preparing students for superior job performance and life beyond earning their diploma.

Offer your students the opportunity to earn the ACT® WorkKeys® National Career Readiness Certificate™ (NCRC®), recognized by nearly 1,000 Tennessee employers  and 28,000 employers nationwide.

The WorkKeys NCRC is a portable, evidence-based credential that verifies three foundational skills necessary for workplace success. To date, more than 142,000 Tennesseans have earned a WorkKeys NCRC by completing and ranking scores in the Applied Math, Graphic Literacy, and Workplace Documents Assessments.

Get more information about offering WorkKeys to your students.

Why Offer WorkKeys? 

Help your students stand out from the crowd by demonstrating to employers they have the foundational skills needed for success in jobs across industries and occupations. Research shows students are more likely to succeed in their HSE obtainment; pursue post-secondary training opportunities; and are more equipped to transition from education to workforce. 

WorkKeys: 

  • Provides students a credential that demonstrates career readiness.
  • Gives students a competitive edge with employers across the country.
  • Enables students to realize the importance of their studies.
  • Improves students’ success in entry-level and subsequent jobs.
  • Builds students’ confidence.
  • Determines skill improvement and training needs.
  • Improves chances of better entry-level salaries through increased skills.
  • Shows prospective employers concrete proof of skills achieved.

Match Students’ Skills to In-Demand Careers

WorkKeys aligns to every career cluster and over 90% of the jobs in the U.S. today.  The WorkKeys system is aligned to every O’NET occupation. Identify the skill levels required across jobs, companies, or industries, or verify that students’ skills meet the needs of employers using our skills-based career navigation tool aligned with occupational profile benchmarks.


WorkKeys Skills-Based Career Navigation Toolkit

Award College Credit for NCRC Completion

Help Your Student Demonstrate College Competence with a WorkKeys NCRC
The American Council on Education (ACE) recommends that colleges and universities award up to six semester hours of college credit to an individual who earns the WorkKeys NCRC at the Silver, Gold, or Platinum level. Credit awards are at the discretion of each school. 

Award College Credit Flyer

How PLA and WorkKeys NCRC Combine Flyer

 

ACT WorkKeys Support and the Tennessee WorkKeys Team

WorkKeys Support is available at 800.967.5539 and workkeys@act.org

Bryan Herrick Adult Education/Workforce/Community Colleges & TCATs/ACT® Work Ready Communities® Bryan.Herrick@act.org
Schwann Logan K-12 Districts and Schools
Schwann.Logan@act.org


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