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​Michigan
 
The Michigan NCRC program is one of the leading programs in America. View Certificate State Rank to see the top 10 states.
 
A Brief History:
  • West Michigan employers clearly voiced support for WorkKeys and the Guaranteed Diploma in August 2003 in the Manufacturing Council Workforce System Recommendations.
  • Work to implement the recommendations in that position paper led to the WIRED NCRC project that effectively combined those two initiatives and advanced the work to improve the workforce skills of our students and workforce via the NCRC.
  • The NCRC Advocates organization was created out of cooperation between the West Michigan WIRED group and the Mid-Michigan WIRED group. This organization has been instrumental in driving system change resulting in improved policies and funding for the NCRC in Michigan.
  • The Michigan Merit Exam was launched in 2007 with two WorkKeys assessments, Reading for Information and Applied Math. In 2009 the test was modified to add the third assessment, Locating Information, so all Michigan high school students have the opportunity to take the three workkeys tests that enable them to earn a certificate.
  • The Council for Labor and Economic Growth (CLEG), Michigan’s State Workforce Board, unanimously approved the Michigan NCRC proposal from the CLEG committees that were tasked to research and recommend a certificate for Michigan.
  • The Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth (DeLEG) issued Policy 08-28, Michigan National Career Readiness Certificate (MI NCRC), on June 23, 2009 making the Michigan NCRC and the three Workkeys upon which it is based the certificate and required worker skills assessments for Michigan’s workforce system.
  • The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) identified $1,500,000 in federal highway administration funding to support the Road Construction Apprenticeship Readiness (RCAR) program. This program utilizes the NCRC for both entry and exit.
  • The Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth (DeLEG) issued Policy 09-12, Energy Conservation Apprenticeship Readiness (ECAR) Program, on August 20, 2009 defining and funding a second stage pilot program that utilizes the NCRC as a cornerstone to prepare individuals for apprenticeship training.
  • Over 600 employers signed a Letter of Commitment (LOC) to incorporate the NCRC into their hiring and promotion practices. The letters are posted on the NCRC Advocates website.
  • The Michigan NCRC is positioned as part of the Governor’s No Worker Left Behind (NWLB) program, Michigan’s signature workforce development program.
  • The Michigan Department of Corrections, Office of Employment Readiness, incorporated the NCRC into the Academic and Career Technical offerings.
  • Various other areas of state government and many schools throughout the state have worked to help clients and students gain the skills required and to earn a certificate.
  • The 2009 Michigan NCRC Advocates Conference attracted over 300 people from all areas of the state.
  • Andy Levin, Michigan’s Chief State Workforce Officer, was a keynote speaker at ACT’s Workforce 2010 Conference in Philadelphia.
  • Governor Jennifer Granholm proclaimed the week of October 17, 2010 Career Readiness Certificate Week coincident with the sixth annual Michigan NCRC Conference confirming a cooperative relationship between the NCRC Advocates and the State of Michigan.
  • Working together, we have been successful envisioning, designing, and driving changes in the public systems that will serve the interests of employers. The NCRC is a success story that illustrates what employers can do when they work together. This work has completed three phases and has one more phase to achieve full sustainability:
    • Phase One, 2003 to 2006, Vision for Change. – Employers  came together to define a vision for change that defined WorkKeys and the NCRC as valuable tools to create a common skills language and a common skills credential based on essential workplace skills. Employers, educators, and workforce development professionals agreed to use the same tools.
    • Phase Two, 2007 to 2008, Voice of the Employer. – Employers recognized that the certificate is a skills currency. As with any currency supply and demand must be balanced to maintain an effective market. Employers signed 600 letters of commitment (LOCs) to aggregate their voices to drive demand for the NCRC. This provided a compelling “voice of the customer” that drove policy changes in the supply-side of the skills market.
    • Phase Three, 2009 to 2010, Supply-Side Alignment. – Schools, workforce development agencies, corrections systems, and community colleges aligned to the NCRC.
    • Phase Four, 2011 to 2012, Mass Adoption by Employers. – The work ahead is to spread the word to all employers in Michigan so they benefit from the NCRC. The state benefits in two ways: (1) our employers hire workers with higher skills, and (2) individuals and all of the supply-side organizations that serve individuals have a clear mandate that the skills represented by the NCRC are important and valuable skills in the employment market.

 

Rev: 2011.03.19
 

 

 
    
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