CHEYENNE – Wyoming is ranked 10th in the U.S. in the rate of its residents achieving a measure of career readiness.
As of Monday, April 11, 2011, a total of 3,047 Wyoming citizens had earned a Career Readiness Certificate. On a per capita basis, Wyoming ranks 10th in the number of certificates issued, behind South Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma, Michigan, Arkansas, North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida.
Wyoming’s Career Readiness Certificate program, which was launched in 2008, helps jobseekers show employers that they possess basic workplace skills in mathematics, reading comprehension and locating information on charts and graphs.
“I’m extremely pleased with these results,” said Joan Evans, Director of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. “For Wyoming to be ranked in the Top 10 nationally is a testament to the hard work of our partners, particularly our community colleges, as well as the efforts of Wyoming citizens to take the initiative to show employers that they have work-ready skills.”
Partners in the program include the Wyoming Department of Education, Wyoming’s seven community colleges, the Wyoming Department of Corrections and the Governor’s Office.
The Top 10 rankings are based on total number of certificates issued in a state relative to its population. The rankings were compiled by National CRC Advocates, an organization that seeks to improve workplace skills through use of the National Career Readiness Certificate and related credentials, such as the Wyoming Career Readiness Certificate.
Both the National and Wyoming certificates are awarded based on scores earned on a career readiness assessment designed by ACT Inc. known as WorkKeys. The WorkKeys assessment also is used to qualify Wyoming high school graduates for Hathaway Scholarships. Each Career Readiness Certificate is signed by Gov. Matt Mead and Workforce Services Director Evans.
WorkKeys assessments are administered at 55 locations across Wyoming, including the community colleges and their outreach sites. For more information, contact a Workforce Center near you, or log on to http://www.wyomingworkforce.org/. The rankings are available at http://www.ncrcadvocates.org/SitePages/Graphic04.aspx.
