Gold, Silver, & Bronze Skills

Never Go Out of Style

Rio 2016 – Gold, Silver & Bronze Metals

COUNTRY TOTAL
GOLD SILVER BRONZE

USA 46 37 38 121

GBR 27 23 17 67

CHN 26 18 26 70
What else comes in Gold, Silver & Bronze?

WorkKeys Scores:
Gold – minimum level 5
Silver – minimum level 4
Bronze – minimum level 3

And then there’s Platinum!

-- mimimum level 6
What can we learn from
Olympic Athletes?
• Engagement
• Dedication
• Preparation

As educators & workforce development

professionals, we should be dedicated,
engaged, and prepared to help our OK
students attain career success!
The Game of Work
• Rapid changes & challenges (Engagement)
• Continual learning and growth (Dedication)
• The right skills (Preparation)

• The Scores:
• By 2018, America will fall short of the demand for 22 million new college
degrees and 4.7 million new workers with post-secondary degrees; that gap
translates to a shortage of 300,000 college graduates, every year, between
2008-2018. -- Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce
What do the 5 rings of the Olympic symbol
represent?

• Diversity
• Strength in unity
• Continents
• Primary colors
Olympic-Level Work Skills
The Future of Work: Preparing Students for a Changing World of Work
The evolving workplace will require four areas of expertise:
• A deep knowledge of the work, whether in fine arts, media, manufacturing, sales,
accounting, public policy, finance, health care, science, or engineering.
• A facility with technology, ranging from email and office productivity software to
imaging, database management, health informatics, coding, cybersecurity, systems
engineering or robotics.
• An ability to engage in critical thinking and problem-solving and work in interdisciplinary,
cross-functional teams.
• People skills, including interpersonal communication, flexibility, and emotional
intelligence.
• Pacific Standard, 2015 - https://psmag.com/the-future-of-work-preparing-students-for-a-
changing-world-of-work-403a8024d81c#.rmf9waabx
The Skills Gap

By comparing the job profile and individual assessment results, skills gaps can be identified.

6 Skills Gap

5 Skills Gap 5 5
Individual Results
4 4 4 4 4 4
Job Profile
3 3 3 3 3 3
Applied Reading for Locating
Mathematics Information Information
Our Challenge
OK Education
• Reports – anything but golden
• Exploring new options
• End of EOI’s
• Funding legislation
• Local authority
• CareerTech System
• WorkKeys CRC Program
• New employers
• New Work Ready Community
• Career Pathways Projects We DO have some great educational initiatives
going on in OK!
Local Engagement
Communicate!
• Public school administrators & boards of education
• Teachers
• Businesses & business owners
• Public
• Recognize!
• Students & job seekers who earn a CRC
• Employers who use the CRC

Let’s not let the CRC be OK’s best kept secret!

WE can fix this!
• Oklahoma’s Workforce
• Skills gap
• More jobs requiring post-secondary education/training
• Aging workforce
• Younger workers not entering the workforce

The challenge is ours. We need educators and workforce professionals

who are dedicated to helping our students bridge the skills gap!

OK Workforce data by Deidre Myers:

http://okcommerce.gov/data-and-research/workforce-data/
Developing Foundational
Workforce Skills
WorkKeys
Assessment

Career Readiness
Certification
Documented Skills
KeyTrain / CR101
Pre-tests
Preparation
Remediation
Preparation for the Game of Work
• KeyTrain / Career Ready 101 (free or very affordable)
• Pretesting
• By Career Cluster
• Pretests – 2 attempts
• Set level requirements
• CNCD requires a pretest or lesson level score of 5 before WorkKeys Testing
• Utilize the scheduling component
• Lessons – must complete in order

CR101 Is Mobile – Clients can complete pretests on their Ipad or phone!

Best practice – Level 5 WorkKeys Score is equivalent to Level 6 in KeyTrain.
Attainment of Skills
• WorkKeys / CRC
The ACT National Career Readiness Certificate is an industry-recognized, portable, research-based credential
that certifies essential skills needed for workplace success.

This credential is used across all sectors of the economy and documents the following cognitive skills:

• Problem-solving.
• Critical thinking.
• Reading and using work-related text.
• Applying information from workplace documents to solve problems.
• Applying mathematical reasoning to work-related problems.
• Setting up and performing work-related mathematical calculations.
• Locating, synthesizing, and applying information that is presented graphically.
• Comparing, summarizing, and analyzing information presented in multiple related graphics.
 Communication!!!
Public Education
Business &
Industry
WorkKeys / CRC & Higher
Education

WorkKeys provides a Common Language for Employers & Educators.

Playing the CRC Game

Not bad!...
But We Can Do Better!
Workreadycommunities.org
Winning with the CRC Choctaw Career Development CRC’s Earned
Gold Medal Question
• One tribe in Oklahoma offers a monetary incentive for members who
earn a CRC – Which tribe is it?
Podium-worthy Work Skills
• Prepare students for the top of their
field!
• Entry level isn’t enough to insure
career success!
• Build OK’s workforce & promote
economic development.
 Gold, Silver, & Bronze Skills – With the CRC

Certificates are
Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6
awarded
score on all assessments score on all assessments score on all assessments score on all assessments
by achieving a
BRONZE! SILVER! GOLD! PLATINUM
minimum

Skill levels
demonstrate 16% of jobs* 67% of jobs* 93% of jobs* 99% of jobs*
ability for

•Accountant
•Auto Body Repair •School Counselor
•Administrative Manager •Technical Writer
Technician •Pharmacy Technician
Sample •Head Cook •Sales Manager
•Veterinary Assistant •Semiconductor
Occupation •Medical Assistant •Registered Nurse
•Janitorial Supervisor Processor
Correlation •Engineering Technician Manager
•Drywall Installer •Business Executive
•Machinist •Elevator Installer &
•Pharmacy Aid •Electrician
Repairer
WorkKeys Occupational Profiles
~Career Ready 101/KeyTrain Skill Match~

• Average WorkKeys Scores

Needed by Job Title
• Match WorkKeys scores to
O*NET Job Database
http://profiles.keytrain.co
m/profile_search/
OR
Within CR101!
 Employers in the CRC Game
Engage!
• Prepare students to connect with CRC Employers
• Some listed at OKWorkKeys.org
• Some we know:
• OG+E, Hobby Lobby, Pan Pacific, Spirit Aerosystems, Frontier Electronic Systems, plus
many more
• Check with local Workforce OK Offices
• Teach students to list the CRC on their Resumes & talk about it in their
Interview – (Choctaw Nation’s CRC Webinar: http://choctawcareers.com/crc/)
• Post CRC “Required”, “Requested”, “Recognized” on School/Business websites
• Distributing Certificates – Employers need to see
them!
• Copies / Originals
• Give copies immediately
• Distribute originals at Awards Assembly or Graduation
Ceremony
• Teach effective uses.

Job Seekers need the CRC in-hand!

Gold “Metal” Careers at CMC
Preparing Students -- with the CRC
• The CRC is a NATIONALLY recognized workforce credential
• Enhances competitiveness in job market
• OK employers DO use the CRC
• Addition to the Resume & Portfolio
• Motivates skill development
• Competition for higher CRC levels
• Recognition for achievement
• Confidence in skills The CRC is NOT
• Preparation for success in the workforce a participation ribbon!

For Choctaw students, the CRC earns an incentive of $100-$400!

Our Olympic Challenge
• Re-kindle the torch!
• Engagement, Dedication, Preparation
• Communicate & Promote – to everyone!

• Use KeyTrain/Career Ready 101 & WorkKeys to help close our Skills Gap

• Commit to adding new CRC employers to your region

• Learn more about Work Ready Communities

 Rhonda Mize
Academic & Employment Services Coordinator
Choctaw Nation Career Development
rmize@choctawnation.com | 580-931-7624
www.choctawcareers.com