The
CRC Consortium
In
January 2004, with leadership from Virginia, seven states (TN,
WV, KY, DC, MD, NC and VA) formed the Career Readiness Certificate
Consortium (CRCC). No state was asked to contribute funds
or in any way commit resources to the effort. The idea of a
Consortium was conceived to provide a support mechanism for
and practical help to all states, particularly for those just
embarking on the project.
The CRCC was comprised of states in very different stages of
development of a portable skills credential based on WorkKeys®
assessments . For example, Kentucky
had been issuing its own Kentucky Employability Certificate
for a year, Virginia was quickly advancing to deployment of
its Career Readiness Certificate, and Maryland and
DC were only just beginning to look at WorkKeys®
scores as the language of skill sets. All other states fell
somewhere in between.
One benefit that accrued from the CRCC was that speakers from
"advanced" states were available to visit key stakeholders
in beginning states. Over the next 15 months, Barbara Bolin
from Virginia visited and presented on the CRC in many other
states, while at the same time participating with an ACT representative
to spread the "good news" about WorkKeys® assessments
and associated ROI to employers.
By the end of 2004, another 5 states had asked to join the CRCC,
and this interest and enthusiasm continued into 2005. At the
last meeting of the CRCC in May 2007, 14 states were represented.
After Barbara Bolin left the Warner administration in 2005,
she continued as the Executive Director of the Consortium. As
of July 2008, the total number of states (including DC) in the
CRCC is 46, and approximately 500,000 certificates have been
issued nationwide. Visit News From The States for details.
States
not yet in the matrix are: Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, Wisconsin,
South Dakota, and Connecticut.
Since
March 2007, the CRC Consortium has been supported by the National
Organization for Career Credentialing (www.nationalocc.org)
The
matrix below shows the current status (July 18,2008) of the
CRCC. For actual numbers of Certificates awarded, see below
and at News From The States.
CRC
deployed |
CRC
in progress or
issued locally
|
Interested
in CRC: |
-
Kentucky
-
Indiana
- Virginia
- Louisiana
- Missouri
- North
Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Alabama
- Tennessee
- New
Mexico
- Florida
- Georgia
- South
Carolina
- Mississippi
- Michigan
- Wyoming
16
states
|
- North
Dakota
- West
Virginia
- Iowa
- Nevada
- Washington
- Kansas
- Ohio
- Colorado
- Arizona
- Massachussets
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Alaska
- New
York
- Arkansas
- Oregon
- Vermont
- Utah
- Illinois
|
- California
- Delaware
- Maryland
- Rhode
Island
- Montana
- Minnesota
- Idaho
- Connecticut
- Nebraska
- New
Jersey
- District
of Columbia
|
Interest
in the CRC continues to grow, and new states are frequently
added to the matrix. Also of significance is how quickly states
are moving from right to left in the matrix!
In
September 2006, ACT announced a national CRC initiative. However,
i t is important to note that it is NOT necessary to be affiliated
with the ACT Certificate initiative in order to issue CRC's
in your state or organization. Please contact Barbara Bolin,
President of the National Organization for Career Credentialing
(www.nationalocc.org)
for more details.
In
September 2006, The Career Readiness Cetificate: An Implementation
Handbook was released across the country. Copies of the
handbook may be obtained by contacting Barbara Bolin (804-310-2552).
An updated and expanded second edition is available at no charge
from the NOCC site (www.nationalOCC.org).
Look under "Resources".
Deployment
of the CRC is increasing rapidly as states move from the planning
stage to issuance. The table below shows the approximate number
of CRC's deployed as of July 18, 2008. Several states
have not updated their data recently.
| STATE |
TOTAL |
BRONZE |
SILVER |
GOLD |
PLATINUM |
NOTES |
| NC |
15,459 |
3677 |
8458 |
3324 |
|
|
AK |
162 |
44 |
91 |
27 |
|
Pilot
of 11th. graders |
| IN |
60,867 |
|
44,087 |
16,780 |
|
Silver
& Gold only |
| VA |
16,534 |
4968 |
8755 |
2811 |
|
|
| OH |
37,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
| OK |
20,398 |
5342 |
10,877 |
4179 |
|
|
GA |
6278 |
|
|
|
|
|
| CO |
|
|
|
|
|
One
Community College
City
of Denver |
| SC |
68,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
| AL |
>12,200 |
|
|
|
|
|
| TN |
6196 |
|
|
|
|
|
| KY |
7850 |
|
|
|
|
Silver
& Gold only |
LA |
17,566 |
6061 |
9088 |
2417 |
|
|
MI |
34,377 |
8018 |
17,786 |
8573 |
|
|
MO |
13,767 |
4396 |
6988 |
2383 |
|
|
WV |
2217 |
363 |
1412 |
442 |
|
Region
1 Workforce West Virginia |
NM |
5000 |
|
|
|
|
Adding
500 per month |
WA |
Several
hundred |
|
|
|
|
|
IA |
1200 |
|
|
|
|
Regional
effort |
NY |
|
22 |
72 |
33 |
|
Rochester
Works! |
FL |
>16,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
| PA |
707 |
131 |
419 |
157 |
|
Central
PA WDC only |
WY |
215 |
|
|
|
|
One
site |
UT |
135 |
11 |
62 |
47 |
|
One
CCollege & 1 Applied Tech Center |
There is considerable variation on how each state is deploying
its credential. In some states, the CRC is state-sanctioned,
authorized by the state WIB and signed by the governor. In others,
the state technical or community college system is taking the
lead. In several states, the initiative is regional or local.
Please visit "News From The States"
for more details.
Several
states are interested in developing a skills bank that not only
is a well-constructed MIS for all WorkKeys®
data in a state but is also a powerful economic development
tool. The North Carolina Community College System has developed
a skills bank that is now being offered FREE to any state that
wants it! This is a most generous offer from Dr. Stephanie Deese
(deeses@nccommunitycolleges.edu).
The key thing in what is fast becoming a national movement
is the fact that so many states agree on the following:
1) There is a need for a portable skills credential
based on a common language, easily understood by employers,
educators, and citizens;
2) This common language should be WorkKeys®;
3) The three WorkKeys®
assessments that should form the basis of the credential are
Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, and Reading
For Information;
4) The credential should be multi-level;
5) The scores for each level should be 3's
for Bronze, 4's for Silver, and 5's for Gold.
(Note: KY and IN issue only the Silver and Gold levels)
This represents more agreement between states than has
been witnessed on almost any other initiative!
The
CRCC is a part of the National Organization for Career Credentialing
(www.nationalOCC.org)
The
NOCC Board of Directors/Officers are:
Dr.
Barbara Bolin, Michigan--President/Treasurer
Robin
Fiddes, Tree of Life, Texas--Secretary
John
S. Palmer, Jr., Michigan
Tim
Kelly--Michigan
Dr.
Blossom Burton, Transition Youth International, New Jersey
For
more information on the CRCC and the NOCC, please contact Barbara
Bolin at bolinb@earthlink.net
or at 804-310-2552.
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