New employment tool was pioneered locally.
November 22, 2008
By YVETTE SAARINEN
of the News-Register
A tool designed to help both employer and employee in today's workforce is being rolled out in nine Oregon counties, including Yamhill, Polk and Marion.
Agnes Balassa and Karen Litvin of the Enterprise for Employment & Education and Elaine Crawley of the Oregon Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development explained Career Readiness Certification, which was piloted in Yamhill and other counties, at the Hot Topic Luncheon of the McMinnville Area Chamber of Commerce this week.
In the worst economic downturn in 10 years, Balassa said, it's a reality that many employers are taking the opportunity to "skill up." They're keeping the best employees and training them more in skill building.
The bottom line, she said, is that the people who are going to make it in the workforce are those who keep honing their skills.
The Career Readiness Certificate is a tool for people who need a way to measure themselves. It's designed to give employers an objective tool to measure what skills are available in the employee pool. Crawley said the CRC is a new employee credential. It assesses foundational job skills and helps employers identify the applicants with the most potential.
Employers who use the program will have a competitive edge by reducing turnover and saving hiring time and money; reducing employee training costs, and increasing productivity and profitability while reducing waste, she said.
"Oregon Career Ready can supplement businesses' current employee assessments. And it can be used as a tool to build the skills of current employees and to evaluate employees for promotion," she said.
OCR is a simple, three-step process, Crawley said.
The employer determines the skills needed on the job using a database of more than 15,000 job profiles compiled by a nonprofit organization called ACT. Individuals take three free proctored assessment tests - reading for information, applied mathematics and locating information. The assessments measure core skills required in more than 85 percent of jobs today. Individuals' scores verify the critical thinking and applied skills they they will bring to the workplace.
Educational software provides individually targeted training to raise skill levels.
Oregonians can earn a certificate on three different skill levels: bronze, or basic; silver, or proficient; and gold, or advanced.
Litvin said resources are available to help people who do not assess at the basic level or those who want to improve their assessment level.
Litvin said the best way for employers to evaluate the program for their own business is to take the test themselves. It will be offered in both morning and afternoon sessions on the Tuesday and Wednesday of Dec. 16-17 on Chemeketa Community College 's Salem campus.
To reserve seats, call Litvin at 1-503-581-4272.
This summer, Cascade Steel Rolling Mills in McMinnville participated in the pilot program.
Hiring Manager Jon Ostling said 72 potential employees took the test during the entry-level hiring process. Fifteen were interviewed and eight were hired. He said it was the best pool of applicants he'd had at the mill.
Ostling said CSRM is in the process of establishing a career path for everyone at the mill and CRC fits into that. From the test results, hiring officers not only learn the skill levels of applicants, they also get a snapshot of how well they work with others.
For more information, call Litvin at 1-503-581-4272 or Crawley at 1-503-378-8648, ext. 291.
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