Readiness certificate to help job seekers

Area job seekers have a new national resource.

The Lincoln Trail Career Centers announced that the National Career Readiness Certificate is available for Kentucky job seekers and employers. The certificate is meant as a way for employees to show valid documentation of their work-related skills that can be accepted nationwide.

It uses an assessment based on the ACT that measures workplace skills, such as math, reading for information and locating information.

The certificate has three levels – silver, gold and platinum – based on assessment performance.

The certificate allows job seekers a chance to stand out by providing proof of job skills and compliments diplomas and resumes, according to the Lincoln Trail Career Centers.

It also helps employers screen applicants, make promotion decisions and target employee training and development, according to the Centers.

The Centers say the assessment is a reliable predictor of on-the-job success.

About 22 states already are using the certificate, and eight others are about to begin doing so, said Jim Skees, business liaison for the Lincoln Trail Area Development District office in Elizabethtown.

Surveys from states using certificates show there tend to be lower turnover rates and better applicant pools among certificate holders, he said.

Kentucky had a similar certificate system for several years, but it wasn’t promoted as well as it could have been. Offering the national certificate allows Kentucky to join other states in promoting the opportunity, Skees said.

The national certificate also allows job seekers to use it in multiple states, he said.

Visit ltcareercenter.org,  ncrc.ky.gov or contact the area career center for more information about the certificate and test centers. The career center in Elizabethtown can be reached at 766-5115 or the Hardin County Adult Education Center in Elizabethtown at 769-8866.

Amber Coulter can be reached at (270) 505-1746 or acoulter@thenewsenterprise.com.