The State of Florida and WIN–Working Together to Promote Career Readiness and Economic Prosperity
Florida Ready to Work: An Overview
MATCHING JOBSEEKER AND EMPLOYER NEEDS
Florida Ready to Work and Worldwide Interactive Network - WIN are helping the State of Florida take the lead in career readiness. Representing the best in partnerships between education and industry, Florida Ready to Work serves the entire State as a comprehensive, innovative, workforce education and economic development program building a skilled, certified workforce and attracting business investment from Tallahassee to Miami. By assessing, training and certifying students’ and jobseekers’ job skills, Florida Ready to Work serves both the business and education community. For businesses, Florida Ready to Work takes the guess work out of finding and hiring the most qualified jobseekers, thereby saving time and money. For students, the program creates a portable credential documenting achievement of workplace-ready skills. For jobseekers, Florida Ready to Work provides a competitive edge showing employers a certification of the right skills and the right attitudes for the job.
SUPPORTING THE MATCHES WITH WIN E-LEARNING SOLUTIONS
The cornerstone of the Florida Ready to Work program is WIN Career Readiness Courseware. This online program provides skill-based training to improve foundational academic and workplace skills, based on jobseekers’ assessed needs for specific career interests and opportunities. The WIN Career Readiness courseware directly links education to workforce requirements in competency-based, Internet-delivered courses providing curriculum and foundational skills training in nine areas: Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, Reading for Information, Applied Technology, Listening, Observation, Teamwork, Writing, and Business Writing. In short, WIN’s Career Readiness software translates academic knowing into workplace doing. Built into the Career Readiness courseware is a credentialing process to certify to employers jobseekers’ skill levels and readiness to work.
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MOVING TOWARD CAREER READINESS
Participants in the Florida Ready to Work program begin their journey by: (1) signing up for the program; (2) taking a placement/assessment test to measure their current skills on the above nine areas; (3) entering assessment scores and viewing jobs which match current qualifications; (4) using the WIN Career Readiness courseware to improve skills and increase opportunities, assess improvements and view new prospects; and (5) downloading earned credentials to present to potential employers. Four components of the Florida Ready to Work program support this journey: Assessments, Courseware, Credentialing, and Career Pathways. Each is a valuable component on its own. Together, the system works to insure that Florida’s students and jobseekers build and match their skills to Florida’s workplace needs. 1. Assessments of Skill Levels - Assessing Needs and Opportunities: Since Florida Ready to Work began in 2007, students or jobseekers engaged in a total of 408,956 assessments of their skills.
Students and other job-seekers work with the Career Readiness Courseware systematically to prepare for the fundamental workplace skills required for more than 85% of all jobs today: Applied Mathematics, Reading for Information, and
Locating Information. These skill assessments help students and job seekers identify exactly where they need to build their skills to levels required by their aspirations.
2. WIN Career Readiness Courseware: Since Florida Ready to Work began in 2007, students or jobseekers spent a total of 428,000 course hours developing job skills.
If placement tests show students or jobseekers need improvement in any of the assessed skill areas, the Florida Ready to Work program provides free online access to the WIN Career Readiness courseware to correct skill gaps. Students and job seekers move through the courseware at their own pace to build the foundational skills needed for entry-level jobs or more advanced positions in careers of interest.
3. Proctored Assessments- Earning Valuable Credentials: Since Florida Ready to Work began in 2007, students or jobseekers earned a total of 104,616 Credentials.
The WIN Career Readiness courseware builds and certifies workplace skills. Passing scores on post-instruction proctored assessments result in a Florida Ready to Work Credential. Signed by the Governor of Florida, the Credential
certifies that Florida’s students and jobseekers have the fundamental skills necessary to succeed in the 21st Century workplace.
The Florida Ready to Work Credential shows three levels of achievement, which indicate to employers an applicant’s skill level and show students or jobseekers the jobs they are qualified to fill. A Bronze Credential qualifies jobseekers for 35% of all jobs, Silver for 65%, and Gold for 90% of all jobs.
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4. Building Career Pathways: In addition to the credentialing process, students and jobseekers can formally explore their personalities and career interests, review entire career pathways matching required skill levels to career clusters, learn to write effective resumes, practice their interview techniques, and in all ways become career-ready Floridians. Software to support development of career pathways is available through the WIN Career Readiness courseware used in this program.
MEASURABLE OUTCOMES TO DATE: 2007 TO 2011 Since Florida Ready to Work began in 2007, the program has engaged close to 190,000 students and jobseekers from every background.
EASING PROGRAM ACCESSIBILITY
The Florida Ready to Work program has transformed the process of looking and applying for jobs in Florida, enhancing professional communications between students or jobseekers and employers. Since its full implementation in 2007, Florida Ready to Work has grown to include 346 state-wide business, education, and workforce development partners, half of which are high-school districts.
Students and jobseekers are able to sign up for the Florida Ready to Work program at high schools, regional workforce board one-stop centers, community colleges, technical centers, and many other locations serving students and adults in schools, colleges, community and correctional facilities. As Table 1 shows almost 109,000 participants signed up for Florida Ready to Work as students in high school. Additionally, some 81,000 students and jobseekers earned a second chance at finding a job through adult education, juvenile justice and other credit recovery programs. Table 1. Entry Points for Florida Ready to Work Program Participation Location High school/school district Regional workforce board Technical Center Transfers (no longer linked to active partner) Adult education Employer Juvenile justice Community-based organization Community college Charter schools Other TOTAL OF UNIQUE PARTICIPANTS TO DATE
Participating Individuals 109,859 33,768 15,947 7,949 5,050 4,515 3,392 2,642 2,314 1,643 2,452
Percent of Total 58.0% 17.8% 8.4% 4.2% 2.7% 2.3% 1.8% 1.4% 1.2% 1.0% 1.3%
189,531
Since the program began in 2007, jobseekers completed almost 409,000 assessments through Florida Ready to Work—roughly one-third in each of the assessed areas, Applied Mathematics, Reading
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for Information, and Locating Information. As Table 2 shows, the majority of students and jobseekers (65.8%) assess their skills at their home schools or districts, followed by regional workforce boards and technical centers (15.2%). Table 2. Entry Point for Initial Program Assessments Assessment Center High School/school district Regional workforce board Technical Center Employer Adult education Community-based organization Juvenile justice Other – community college, adult corrections, charter schools, private schools/colleges, universities
Number 268,970 62,082 35,406 10,051 8,249 6,308 5,710 12,180
Percent of Total 65.8% 15.2% 8.7% 2.5% 2.0% 1.5% 1.4% 2.9%
TOTAL ASSESSMENTS TO DATE
408,956
100%
CERTIFYING CAREER READINESS
In the past five years, students and jobseekers in Florida earned almost 105,000 Florida Ready to Work Credentials. These Credentials save businesses time and money by “taking the guesswork out of the hiring process. Jobseekers presenting a Credential are ready for work—ready to interview and be hired and retained for specific jobs as indicated by the level (gold, silver or bronze) of their Credential. Figure 1. Florida Ready to Work Credentials by Participant Group
Credentials Earned 20072011 In High School In Adult or Tech Center or College In Juvenile Justice System In Community or Other
As Figure 3 to the left shows, students in high schools earned roughly two-thirds (64%) of the Credentials in the State. Adult jobseekers in regional workforce center One-Stops, Tech Centers, or Colleges earning almost one-third (32%) of the Credentials. A small number (4%) earned Credentials through juvenile justice, in corrections or elsewhere in the community.
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Figure 2. Distribution of Credentials Earned
Bronze 19%
Silver
Gold
26%
For each category of student or job seeker— whether in high school, adult center, juvenile justice program, community, or other, roughly 56% of all Florida Ready to Work Credentials earned were at the Silver level, 27% at the Bronze level, and 19% at the Gold Level. This distribution is shown in percentages in Figure 2 to the left and numbers in Table 3 below.
55%
Table 3. Earned Credentials by Aggregated Major Student and Jobseeker Categories Participant Group
High School Adult Center, Tech Center, or College Juvenile Justice System Community, Other TOTAL CREDENTIALS EARNED
All Credentials
Gold Level
Silver Level
Bronze Level
67,365 33,455 2,158 1,638 104,616
11,493 7,775 264 157 19,689
38,021 18,042 1,173 867 58,103
17,851 7,638 721 614 26,824
HELPING FLORIDIANS STATEWIDE
Florida Ready to Work and WIN are growing Florida’s economy. The program also helps students in schools and juvenile detention centers, and adult jobseekers in adult education, tech centers, colleges, correctional facilities, and the community. Some highlights of those services follow:
Helping Students Be Career- and College- Ready – Regardless of the paths students follow after high school, most will eventually become part of the nation’s workforce, whether immediately or following the military or post-secondary education. The Florida Ready to Work program is relevant for both career- and college-bound students as it reinforces skills which contribute to success in today’s schools and workplaces, and gives students a competitive advantage in any setting. School districts across Florida embrace this program, and contribute to the majority (64%) of Florida Ready to Work Credentials earned overall.
Helping Out-of-School Jobseekers Certify Career Readiness - Regional Workforce Boards’ (OneStop Centers) use the Florida Ready to Work program to help active jobseekers develop and demonstrate their career readiness skills, assist employers in identifying qualified ready to work applicants, and provide a supplemental incumbent worker training tool. The Workforce Boards alone generated 17% of all Credentials earned to date.
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Other out-of-school programs include the Tech Centers across Florida, where 9% of Credentials were awarded to date; and Adult Education programs, where 2% of all Credentials were awarded to date.
Giving Derailed Kids a New Chance - Partnering with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, the Florida Ready to Work program has conducted a separate study to determine gains for this often hard-to-reach population. Findings showed the program to be highly effective for preparing youth in the Department’s programs for careers. For example,
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Most youth in the Juvenile Justice system are initially assessed as “below career readiness,” (Levels 1 and 2 out of 6 or 7 on the placement tests.) Participation in the Florida Ready to Work program for youth in the juvenile justice system increased skills an average of two levels, enabling these young adults to qualify for a career-ready, Bronze (or sometimes Silver) level Florida Ready to Work Credential. To date in the program, youth in the Juvenile Justice system have earned 1,322 Florida Ready to Work credentials.
Preparing Incarcerated Adults for Transition to the Workplace - The Florida Ready to Work program works with the Florida Department of Corrections to expand program participation among inmates within 180 days of release. This partnership is relatively new within the program, and continues to grow.
IMPACTING THE WORKPLACE
A Florida Department of Education evaluation of the Florida Ready to Work program showed significant impact in the workplace in terms of gaining employment and wage levels. Key findings from this summer 2007 through winter 2008 study include the following: Jobseekers with the Florida Ready to Work Credential had a significant advantage in gaining employment over other active jobseekers with no Credential. Figure 3. Job Placement by Quarter Percent Found Employed
50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%
Active -No Certificate Certificate Earners
Q3 2007
Q4 2007
Q1 2008
Q2 2008
Quarter and Year Data Tracked
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Employees with the Florida Ready to Work Credential earn more on the average than those employees who do not have a Florida Ready to Work Credential. With a Credential in hand, about 40% of Floridians earned wages greater than $9.00 per hour in the 2007 to 2008 period under study; without a credential, only 15% of Floridians earned above that $9.00 per hour threshold. Figure 4. Estimated Wages by Quarter Percent Earning $9/hour or more
45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0%
Active -No Certificate Certificate Earners
Q3 2007
Q4 2007
Q1 2008
Q2 2008
Quarter and Year Data Tracked
Clearly, Florida residents of all ages and all backgrounds benefit from participating in the Florida Ready to Work program—developing their skills and clarifying their career pathways with support from WIN Career Readiness courseware. Participants who complete the Florida Ready to Work program and earn signed Credentials benefit most, not only in the year of their completion as illustrated above, but probably throughout their career pathway.
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WIN AND FLORIDA READY TO WORK: ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF THE 21ST CENTURY WORKFORCE Over the past several decades, changes in technology and a rapid growth in knowledge have transformed entire industries and their respective workforces. Consider, for example, the change in worker skill levels. In 1955, 60% of the American nonprofessional labor force was unskilled and 20% skilled. Fifty-three years later in 2008, while 20% of the workforce has remained professional, the breakdown of labor has shifted the structure of the rest of the American labor workforce dramatically, to 68% skilled and 12% unskilled.
With this shift in workforce skills, we as Americans must prepare our students and jobseekers for the reality of today’s competitive workforce. According to a recent (2011) Harvard report, Pathways to Prosperity, employers and educators need to work together to assure individuals entering the workforce—whether directly from high school, the military, or following post-secondary education—are prepared to work. The Florida Ready to Work Credential awarded with the completion of WIN Career Readiness courseware assures students have the skills needed to enter a wide range of occupations in various industries across Florida. A recent Associated Press-Viacom poll (released April 19, 2011) reports that most youth believe high schools fail to prepare them for work or for college. According to the article, “A majority say their school wasn’t good at helping them choose a field of study, aiding them in finding the right college or vocational school, or assisting them in coming up with ways to pay for more schooling.” The poll also notes the majority of high-school students won’t earn a college degree and, therefore, getting students prepared for work should be a primary mission of schools. Florida Ready to Work and WIN are changing this perception, one student at a time, in one career at a time by “helping educators and workforce development partners prepare today’s students/jobseekers for tomorrow’s jobs.”
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