WORKFORCE READINESS - State, local, national and SHRM Workforce Readiness information and initiatives
State Workforce Development
The following links are some updates as to where we are with the reorganization of Alabama's Workforce Development delivery system currently being discussed in the Workforce Development sub-committee for the West Al. Rural Action Committee as well as the West Al. (Region 3) Workforce Development Advisory Committee. For more information click on the items below.
Job Profiling With Workkeys
ACT Inc.’s WorkKeys® job profiling system is a job analysis system that helps businesses identify the skills and skill levels employees must have to perform particular jobs effectively. It also gives individuals a clear picture of the skill levels they need to qualify for and be successful in the jobs they want.
Grant Funds Available
Career Ready funds are being made available to help business and industry use WorkKeys Job Profiling.
A company may apply for a grant up to $2000.00 to be used towards the cost of one (1) job profile. The grant will be paid to the WorkKeys Testing Center that performs the job profile. The company must match the grant with at least $500.00. Each company may apply for up to two (2) job profiles. Click here for more info.
NEED MORE QUALIFIED APPLICANTS TO FILL YOUR ENTRY LEVEL JOBS?
WE CAN FIX THAT.
Alabama’s Ready to Work program provides a career pathway for adults with limited education and employment experience at 63 sites by 19 colleges. Ready to Work’s workplace environment provides trainees the entry level skills required for employment with most businesses and industries in Alabama. The training curriculum is set to standards cited by business and industry employers throughout the state, and the skills cited in the U. S. Department of Labor’s Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) Reports.
The Ready-to-Work (RTW) Program is operated by the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education, Governor’s Office of Workforce Development in cooperation with the Alabama Industrial Development Training (AIDT). Essential requirements for successful completion include:
- A 95 percent attendance and punctuality rate, which must be certified by the college; (The calculation of a participant’s attendance and punctuality rate may take into account an individually-negotiated full-time or part-time attendance schedule. Participant absences or tardies that are excused by the instructor should not be counted so as to lower the participant’s attendance and punctuality rate).
- Instructor certification of “Satisfactory” achievement of work ethic, organizational skills, attitude and motivation based on observation and/or testing;
- Instructor certification of “Satisfactory” achievement of problem solving skills, workplace behaviors, computer skills, job acquisition skills and manufacturing skills;
- Attainment of a minimum WorkKeys Assessment Level 3 on Applied Mathematics, Reading for Information, and Locating Information;
- A score of at least 70 percent on the written Alabama Certified Worker Examination.
Failure to achieve any of the requirements will result in the immediate release of the client from the RTW Program. Successful completers earn an “Alabama Certified Worker” (ACW) Certificate and a State of Alabama “Career Readiness Credential” (CRC).
Click here for additional information.
THRP has been awarded a Pinnacle Award (to recognize outstanding achievements in chapter/state council development and contributions to the advancement of effective human resource management) based on the design and implementation of the pilot of this program. For more information and to view a PowerPoint presentation click here.
SHELTON STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
ALABAMA'S CAREER CENTER SYSTEM
ALABAMA'S JOBLINK
You can now log onto the Internet with the Alabama Career Center and view resumes, receive emails on new jobseekers, post your job opening(s) or get local office assistance in listing your job openings. Also, you can also access additional details and employer services, including access to Alabama Career Center System Partner Services, register for a state unemployment (SUI) account, update your current tax account and research the labor market at no charge to you. Just log onto www.joblink.alabama.gov and follow the instructions for “Create an Employer Account”. You as an Employer/H R Manager have the power and ability to make this site as powerful a tool as you want to be. Remember the old saying, “Build it and they will come?” Alabama’s JobLink was built just for you – the demand side of labor exchange. Posting your job openings on Alabama’s JobLink will create the supply side of labor exchange – and they will come. Over 120,000 applicant resumes have already found their way to Alabama’s JobLink.
If you are interested in learning more about the self services aspects of Alabama's JobLink please click here.
For information about how to decrease your hiring costs with OJT (On the Job Training) click here.
Need Help with training costs? Click here to view information about Incumbent Worker Training.
www.americasheroesatwork.gov: The America’s Heroes at Work project addresses the employment challenges of returning service members living with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and/or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - an important focus of the President's veteran’s agenda. The project equips employers and the workforce development system with tools and resources to help returning service members affected by TBI and/or PTSD to succeed in the workplace. Please take a little time to look over this web site and review the Resources page which has a wealth of information, such as answers to employers’ questions on TBI and PTSD:
Alabama's Career Readiness Certificate - Interview applicants with the skills needed to do the job. There is great concern in the private sector about the gap that exists between the skills required in today's workplace and those exhibited by potential and incumbent employees. Businesses have trouble finding and hiring people who have basic employable skills and who are therefore trainable for specific jobs. Alabama’s Career Readiness Certificate serves as a common language between employers and job seekers. It is a portable skills credential, assuring employers that a job applicant actually has the basic skills they seek. Go to www.careerreadyalabama.com for additional information.
Job Shadow is an academically motivating activity designed to give kids the unique opportunity of an up-close look at the world of work and provide the answer to the commonly asked question, “Why do I have to learn this?” Beginning with a nationwide kickoff in February and continuing throughout the school year, students across America will “shadow” workplace mentors as they go through a normal day on the job. The program invites students to see firsthand how the skills learned in school relate to the workplace. Job Shadow is led by the National Job Shadow Coalition.
To support Job Shadow Day, visit www.JobShadow.org to get the latest information on Job Shadow Day, or to download helpful How-To Guides, Job Shadow art, and other helpful resources.
AARP SmartBrief- News for Employers regarding the aging workforce.
