Program Title:

Work Certified Program

Program Modules:

Orientation: Program Overview and Certification

Reading Comprehension

Business Technology

Business Math

Pre-Employment

Customer Service

Business Communications

Employment Expectations

Mastering Career Success

General Business Knowledge

Program Length:

90 Hours

Modules Requiring Pre-Assessment Tests:

Reading Comprehension

Business Communications

Business Math

Certifying Agency:

Workforce Development Board of the Treasure Coast, Indian River State College, Palm Beach Community College and soon the National Work Certified Council.  Certification designed by the Nation Skill Standards Board. 

Certification Requirements:

Must pass all 59 competencies (except for modules where students pass the waiver exams) and must score 80% or higher on the Work Certified Program exam.  The Work Certified exam cannot be administered by the organization that teaches the curriculum and grades the individual competencies. 

Program Goals:

To verify and teach skills and behaviors to entry-level employees that will ensure their success in the workplace.  By hiring more skilled and knowledgeable employees, businesses will be more productive, have fewer turnovers and spend less time teaching basics and more time transacting business.  Employees who obtain a Work Certified certificate will remain employed and be able to advance within a business, or obtain a better position with another company.

 In addition, the Work Certified Program establishes a benchmark of skills that individuals need to succeed in the workplace.  Individuals lacking the education or language to enter the Work Certified Program will become aware of the level they need to reach before they can be of value to the vast majority of employers.  Once the basic levels are reached, the Work Certified Program teaches the individuals additional workplace behaviors and skills.

Background:

The Work Certified Program is an employer-driven program.  Focus groups consisting of business owners and management were conducted to determine the basic job skills required of an average entry-level employee. 

The nine modules that comprise the Work Certified Program are the direct result of employer focus groups.  The content and competencies for the courses reflect the requests of the focus group members and feedback from professionals in each area.

Target Market:

The target market for this program is entry-level employees.   This may include high school students not going to college, college students working summer or part-time jobs, workers changing industries, individuals new to the workplace, individuals who have been out of the workplace for a period of time and are re-entering the workplace, existing workers identified by businesses in need of training, foreign language employees who have mastered an advanced level of English through ESOL programs, and other appropriate groups.

Other markets such as Youth, Dislocated Workers, TANF, Adults and other market have also been successful taken this program.

Program Module Hierarchy:

LEVEL 1

Reading Comprehension; 9 hours

LEVEL 2

Business Technology; 12 hours

LEVEL 3

Business Math; 12 hours

Pre-Employment; 6 hours

Customer Service; 12 hours

LEVEL 4

Business Communications; 9 hours

Employment Expectations; 12 hours

LEVEL 5

Mastering Career Success; 12 hours

LEVEL 6

General Business Knowledge; 6 hours

Teaching Tools:

Lecture, in-class exercises, role-playing, case studies, handouts, hands-on, textbooks and worksheets.

Instructor Credentials:

Instructors must be certified in order to teach in this program.  Instructor certification is 30 hours and involves a review of the program and a review of all 9-modules.  Instructors must pass a teacher certification test with a 90% or higher prior to teaching their first class.  To maintain certification, teachers are required to attend an annual meeting to review program updates and changes and must score 90% or higher on an annual process test.

Train-the-Trainer Program:

Trainers of instructional staff must be certified.  In order to train new teachers, individuals must be certified to teach the program, pass the process test (they may take it prior to their annual renewal to meet this requirement) and have taught the entire 9-module program at least twice.  Certification is then obtained by attending train-the-trainer sessions that include instruction on how to conduct teacher trainer sessions, and mock training sessions.  They must then have portions of their first teacher trainer session audited by a certified train-the-trainer (which can be accomplished using video tape).

Program Evaluation:

A student critique and an instructor evaluation form are provided for the purpose of evaluating each module after it is taught (see Chapter 3 – Certification and Orientation).  In addition, businesses that hire graduates will be contacted and surveyed to determine if they are obtaining their desired value from the program.