Nation's First ACT Center Opens for Business: Workforce Testing/Training Network to Follow

July 31, 2000

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa—The first ACT Center^SM opened its doors today at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, marking the beginning of what will be a nationwide network of technology-driven workforce testing and training centers. In the coming months and years, hundreds more will open across the country, providing businesses and individuals with easy and affordable access to on-site and web-based services for workforce development.

"This is a major step in our effort to help solve one of the most pressing problems in business today," said ACT President Richard L. Ferguson. "A decade ago, ACT began developing the Work Keys^® system, to assess workplace skills and pinpoint training needs. Now, the ACT Centers complete the picture, by providing the nation's businesses and individuals with state-of-the-art, on-demand training programs and other workforce development services."

Business leaders and dignitaries attending today's opening of the first ACT Center were given a hands-on demonstration of some of the training programs, which currently number in the hundreds and will top 1,000 within a few months.

This year, the U.S. Department of Labor estimates business will spend 63 billion dollars on training. The American Management Association's 13th Annual Workforce Survey, released last October, found a strong correlation between training and increased profits and productivity.

"There is an incredible demand right now for better trained workers in growing career areas," says Kirkwood President Norm Nielsen. "The wide variety and high quality of the ACT Center training programs will be invaluable to keeping the local economy healthy and competitive."

More than 150 two-year colleges have already committed to establishing ACT Centers, including major metropolitan areas such as New York City, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle, and all points in between.

Many prominent training program publishers are working with ACT to provide state-of-the-art courseware through the ACT Centers network. Training programs available through the ACT Centers cover areas such as:

Adult Literacy/Employability Skills
Computer Basics
Information Technology
English as a Second Language
Industrial Technology and Safety Skills
Management and Leadership
Personal and Professional Development

ACT Centers will enable clients to use services on-site or through the Internet. A majority of training programs will be web-based, enabling individuals to take a course from a computer at work or at home.

"Our vision is to provide services on-demand, customized to meet the company's or individual's needs," said Ferguson. "Companies can use our technology to establish their own 'corporate universities' through their local ACT Center, without the time and expense traditionally associated with that endeavor." And because the ACT Centers across the nation will be part of an integrated network, large companies can provide the same training to employees at field locations in all 50 states.

Other ACT Center services include:

Workplace skills assessments, including computerized Work Keys tests to measure crucial workplace skills and guide targeted training decisions.
Computer-delivered certification and licensure tests for the trades and professions.
Computerized educational and career guidance counseling for individuals deciding a career path.

Prominent businesses are assisting ACT in establishing the network of ACT Centers, including EDS, a leader in the global information services industry; the Clements Group, L.C., a consulting firm focusing on strategic planning and fund-raising efforts for community and technical colleges; ERISS.COM, a national leader in providing labor market information; Hudson Institute, a research firm that develops workforce training programs; and Infotec, a leading designer of systems that enable major corporations to deliver and manage electronic training services.

Announcements will be forthcoming in communities around the nation as other ACT Centers begin opening for business.