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Kirkwood Aligns with Obama’s Support of Skills Initiative

By June 9, 2011January 11th, 2019No Comments

NCRC Certification Proves Students Have the Skills Local Industry Requires

On Wednesday, June 8, President Barack Obama announced his desire to use skills certifications to credential a half-million community college students over the next five years, focusing primarily on the future manufacturing workforce of America. He cited The Manufacturing Institute’s NAM-endorsed Skills Certification System as a national solution. At the foundation of this system of stacking more certificates upon each other, is ACT’s National Career Readiness Certificate, which proves a base of knowledge, providing career pathways through additional certifications for various industries.

Kirkwood Community College leads a regional employer initiative in support of the Iowa NCRC. Today 168 employers are requiring or recommending the NCRC Certificate and more than 3,800 individuals have received their NCRC Certificate through Kirkwood.

“The NCRC continues to gain endorsement from local employers,” said Kirkwood Continuing Education and Training Services Vice President Kim Johnson. “Because of our partnerships with businesses and the NCRC, employees and job-seekers can now prove they have the necessary skills in applied mathematics, reading for information and locating information, to be successful at regional companies.”

Kirkwood Community College is collaborating with United Way of East Central Iowa, community-based organizations and partner Iowa community colleges to develop and offer career pathway programs in support of numerous industry sectors. Iowa is one of 12 Lumina states selected for statewide deployment of the Skills Certification System. Kirkwood is partnering with the Association of Business and Industry to align programs and credentials with industry-defined needs related to workplace and industry-wide technical competencies.

“Because of the increased importance local companies are putting on the NCRC, we’re responding to their needs by making sure our students meet these standards,” said Kirkwood President Mick Starcevich. “We are in the process of implementing the NCRC as a requirement for all of our students earning degrees in Agriculture, Business and IT, Hospitality Arts, Industrial Technologies and Nursing.”

“As these Kirkwood graduates enter the workforce with the credentials local employers are requiring, the availability and capability of the region’s workforce gets stronger,” added Johnson. “These students will be able to build on the NCRC and add other certifications required by industry.”

Starcevich said the requirement for the NCRC fits well in-line with Kirkwood’s mission. “At Kirkwood we pride ourselves on finding out what our community needs, and providing the accessible, quality education and training that allows our students to meet those needs. These initiatives put us as the leader among Iowa’s community colleges for these stackable credentials.”

In 2010, more than 457,000 individuals across the country earned a registered National Career Readiness Certificate. More than 1,200 community and technical colleges are already equipped to administer the three WorkKeys® assessments that power the National Career Readiness Certificate. Many of these institutions also offer ACT’s KeyTrain® curriculum of online tutorials and skill-building software.