Businesses Commit to National Career Readiness Certificate - Times Record News

Fifty-two local businesses have pledged to use the National Career Readiness Certificate as a springboard to hiring, according to Denise Williams, director of assessment for the Wichita Falls Independent School District. The certificate — which comes in platinum, gold, silver or bronze versions — must be earned by WFISD seniors in November to acknowledge their varying degrees of workforce readiness. Seniors will be tested in the one-day, four-hour exam sometime between Nov. 1 and 15 at the local high schools. The certificate they receive for their scores will be something they can present, along with a resume, to prospective employers as a measure of the workforce training they've mastered. The 52 local businesses have each signed a letter of commitment, agreeing to recommend or consider a student with a certificate for an entry-level job. The test will be administered to all seniors at no cost to the school district. The initiative is spearheaded by the Workforce Development Division of the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce and Industry as a measure that is believed to be as beneficial to the community as it is to the student. The test assesses a senior's math ability, research skills and skills at reading for information, according to Williams. Students who don't score as well on the test will be allowed to retest for a higher score after a stint of enrichment training. Williams told WFISD board members in a regularly scheduled work session Monday that the test is designed to graduate WFISD seniors with a diploma and "a globally recognized, value-based certificate that validates their workplace skills." The certificate is believed to be a reliable predictor of workplace success, Williams said.