Oklahoma Celebrates Successes in Career Readiness Certificate Efforts

From Keytrain News
March 6, 2007

Workforce and Education Professionals Gather Amidst Announcements of Program Success and Renewal of Statewide Contracts with KeyTrain Curriculum for WorkKeys.

More than 200 Oklahoma workforce and education professionals came together last week to discuss successes and best practices in Oklahoma's Career Readiness Certificate program, which is based on the ACT WorkKeys system.  The year old workforce credentialing program has seen rapid acceptance and success in the total numbers of Certificates awarded and in the high level of Certificate achievement by individuals in Oklahoma.  One large local employer is rewarding Certificate holders with higher wages of $2 more per hour.

In an address to the group Terry Watson, director of Workforce Solutions for the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, announced "To date, we have issued 4,682 Certificates and we are encouraged by the growing number of employers accepting this credential."  Watson spoke further about the role of the Career Readiness Certificate in the state's economic development efforts.

Sessions held in Oklahoma City and Tulsa focused on best practices within Career Tech, Workforce OK, Adult Education, WIBs, TANF, and Veterans Employment organizations in awarding the Certificate and in using KeyTrain, the curriculum employed statewide in Oklahoma to raise the skills level of the workforce. 

In one case, 126 of 132 KeyTrain users gained a certificate. Amid such positive program results, statewide contracts with Thinking Media, the makers of KeyTrain, have been renewed for the Career Tech Centers and for the Department of Commerce sponsored Workforce OK Centers. 

Thinking Media, headquartered in Chattanooga is the creator of the KeyTrain product line and The Character Education Network (CharacterEd.net). KeyTrain is the complete interactive training system for the National Career Readiness CertificateT and all WorkKeys foundational workplace skills. It provides a comprehensive learning system for common skills required by all jobs, based on ACT's WorkKeys employment system. 

For more information please contact Thinking Media at 877-842-6205 or info@keytrain.com or visit the website at http://www.keytrain.com/home.asp

Chattanooga, TN, March 6, 2007