National Career Readiness Certificate
Benefits for Individuals
For more information on how to acquire a National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC), contact any job service office.
Benefits for Job Seekers
The NCRC offers individuals, employers and educators an easily understood and nationally valued credential certifying essential workplace skills. The Certificate is designed to complement other traditional credentials, such as a high school diploma, community college degree, or college degree. While these education credentials mark the fulfillment of classroom learning experiences, the NCRC proves jobseekers and employees have the workplace skills needed to succeed on the job.
See list of South Dakota employers who recognize the National Career Readiness Certificate.
Preparing for the WorkKeys Assessment: ACT® WorkKeys® Curriculum™
ACT WorkKeys Curriculum is a comprehensive, easy-to-use system for improving the basic skills measured by the WorkKeys Assessment System. Using ACT WorkKeys Curriculum, individuals can assess their potential WorkKeys score, review topics in each WorkKeys skill area and practice with item types similar to those found on an actual WorkKeys assessment.
The ACT WorkKeys Curriculum system includes targeted, self-paced instruction, pre- and post-assessments, a complete learning management system and an occupational job profile database. These components can help individuals learn, practice and demonstrate the skills they need to succeed in the jobs and career they desire.
WorkKeys Assessment
The WorkKeys assessment system, developed by ACT, is the leading job skills assessment system in the nation. These assessments measure real world foundational skills critical to job success, regardless of occupation. WorkKeys assessments can provide reliable, relevant information about an individual’s workplace skill levels.
ACT has profiled more than 20,000 individual jobs across the country to determine the skill being used and the level needed for job success. According to ACT findings, three skills are essential to nearly every job: applied math, graphic literacy and workplace documents.
Sample Questions:
WorkKeys assessments are considered high-stakes exams. They are proctored by a statewide network of providers contracted by the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation.
Sharing Your Achievement with Employers
Certificates can be shared with prospective employers in person or by including the information on a résumé and referencing the achievement on job applications. All certificate holders are encouraged to access their online account to share the certificate electronically and to manage account details. If you are unable to access your online account, please call ACT at 800.967.5539.