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Business Engagement

ACT WorkKeys® is a job skills assessment system that helps employers select, hire, train, develop, and retain a high-performance workforce. This series of tests measures foundational and soft skills and offers specialized assessments to target institutional needs.

NATIONAL CAREER READINESS CERTIFICATE

IowaWORKS uses a universal testing system based on ACT’s world-renowned WorkKeys assessment that rates the skills and abilities of students and those in Iowa’s workforce, awarding a National Career Readiness Certificate(NCRC) upon successful completion of the program. Testing “real world” skills, using every day work situations is a reliable predictor of workplace success.

The NCRC is available to individuals at no cost and is useful in a broad range of career pathways. To earn a certificate, an individual must take the assessments in applied mathematics, locating information, and reading for information. Based on scores, individuals can earn one of four levels of certification, each aligned with specific jobs in the WorkKeys database. You must schedule ahead of time on the IowaWORKS.gov website to take the NCRC.

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IowaWORKS offices are Iowans' best resource for improving their skills and preparing for a new career.

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