Department of Labor and Regulation

Title - Employer Services

National Career Readiness Certificates

If you do not find the information on National Career Readiness Certificates (NCRC™) you are seeking through one of the links below, contact one of the state contacts for more information.

What is the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC)?
How do employers use the NCRC?
What is job profiling?
What analysis is used for job profiling?
What are the benefits of job profiling?
What South Dakota certified job profiler can I contact?
Where can I learn more?
Who are the state office contacts for the NCRC?

What is the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC)?

The NCRC is a portable, national credential verifying to employers, anywhere in the United States, that an individual has essential core employability skills in Applied Mathematics, Locating Information and Reading for Information. This easily understood and nationally valued credential certifies attainment of these employability skills at a Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum level of achievement.

To earn a National Career Readiness Certificate, individuals must successfully complete assessments that measure cognitive abilities, examining some of the "real world" foundational skills critical to job success. ACT (the college testing company) has researched more than 16,000 occupations, concluding that these three skills are very important for almost any occupation--skilled or professional--at any level of education.

How do employers use the NCRC?

Hiring Process

When you recommend or require the NCRC for job applicants, you will tap into the most qualified labor pool in your area. Applicants who come into your business with a NCRC will give you solid insight into their foundational employability skills.

Determine Hiring Qualifications

  • Match your company's needs with occupational skill level requirements, using the job skills database.

Screening

  • Interview only those applicants with the skills necessary to succeed in your job.
  • Reliably measure core employability skills to ensure you hire only most qualified, trainable candidates.
  • Verify certification at the national registry.

Retention and Promotion Decisions

  • Reduce employee turnover, overtime and waste by ensuring employees have the basic skills necessary to be effective on the job.
  • Assess the abilities of employees for promotion and increased productivity.
  • Communicate the essential employability skills of emerging, transitional and incumbent workers.
  • Identify skill gaps needing improvement prior to advancement.
  • Motivate workers to acquire the skills identified through certificate use.
  • Use possession of the NCRC as a "plus" factor to help make promotion decisions.

Training

  • Identify skill gaps within your workforce.
  • Improve training results by making certain trainees have the basic skills to make the most of your training dollars.
  • Target your training budget for job-specific skill training, rather than basic employability skills.
  • Decrease training time and costs.

What is job profiling?

ACT Inc.'s job profiling analysis system helps businesses identify the skills and skill levels employees must have to perform particular jobs effectively. It also gives individuals a clear picture of the skill levels they need to qualify for and be successful in the jobs they want.

Job profiling identifies the skills and WorkKeys® skill levels an individual must have to perform successfully for each position. By comparing job profile information with individuals' WorkKeys assessment scores, organizations can make reliable decisions about hiring, training and program development.

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What analysis is used for job profiling?

The profiling procedure is designed to systematically develop accurate profiles through:

  • a task analysis to select the tasks most critical to a job,
  • a skill analysis to identify the skills and skill levels required at the entry level and for effective performance on that job, and
  • a skill ranking to determine the WorkKeys skills most critical to the job.

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What are the benefits of job profiling?

The benefits of job profiling are:

  • reducing employee turnover,
  • establishing an employee selection process,
  • improving training practices and
  • documenting employee and business competitiveness.

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What South Dakota certified job profiler can I contact?

The following certified job profilers are available to assist any business in South Dakota.

Larry Porterfield
Career Learning Center of the Black Hills
730 E. Watertown St.
Rapid City, SD 57701
Tel: 605.395.5120
Email

Sheri Duke
Southeast Job Link
1200 W. 21st St.
Yankton, SD 57078
Tel: 605.668.3482
Email

Davin Johnson
Cornerstones Career Learning Center
420 S. Roosevelt
Aberdeen, SD 57401
Tel: 605.626.2228
Email

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Where can I learn more?

Visit the ACT website.

Check out these publications (in Adobe .pdf format*):

Who are the state office contacts for the NCRC?

Eastern South Dakota:

Scott Kwasniewski
Program Specialist
605.688.4350

Western South Dakota:

Steve Almeida
Program Specialist
605.394.2296

*Opening and printing Adobe .pdf files requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here as needed to download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.


Pamela S. Roberts, Secretary
700 Governors Drive
Pierre, SD 57501-2291
Tel. 605.773.3101
Fax. 605.773.6184

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