RochesterWorks! Career Centers have been successfully implementing the WorkKeys™ assessment program in Monroe County area since August 2007. Included in this implementation are several community agencies that focus on increasing the marketability among adults and young adults. 

One site, Career Systems Development Corporation, runs a job readiness program entitled the B.E.S.T Program (Basic Employability and Skills Training Program).  Cynthia Fair, B.E.S.T Program Manager, says, “A significant number of B.E.S.T participants have limited academic and work skills yet they sometimes tend to have unrealistic career goals.” 

RochesterWorks! has worked closely with B.E.S.T. to provide KeyTrain online skill development to their participants. 

KeyTrain testing"provides students with the opportunity for an accurate assessment of their actual skills and aptitude. It also prepares them to take the WorkKeys assessment, which leads to a nationally recognized Career Readiness Credential (CRC).

Participants utilize the online training throughout the four-week job readiness training and then take the WorkKeys assessments in Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, and Reading for Information.  Participants who score at qualifying levels can earn a Bronze, Silver, or Gold.  Of those who have taken the WorkKeys assessments, 83 percent have obtained the credential, with all but one scoring at the Silver Level. 

Fair notes, “Obtaining a CRC provides our participants with a certificate to add to their portfolios, the credentialing certifies that they have the core employability skills and trainability necessary for successful employment.”     

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