Career Readiness Certificates (CRC) have become popular nationwide as a system for certifying the basic skills necessary for success in typical jobs. A CRC gives specific information about a person's ability to perform common tasks that all employers require. Over 35 states have implemented, are implementing, or are interested in implementing programs using the CRC.

The Southeast Tennessee Career Center Initiative

The Southeast Tennessee Career Center has begun an initiative for the nine-county region surrounding Chattanooga. This initiative has the support of the Center in addition to regional Chambers of Commerce, Chattanooga State, and many other agencies. Tennessee is affiliated with the National Career Readiness System. The certificate acts as a portable credential that is recognizable by businesses across the country.

The Career Readiness Certificate focuses on three targeted skills:

• Applied Mathematics
• Reading for Information
• Locating Information

These skill areas were determined because they were the most utilized assessments in the Occupational Profile database at ACT, which contains about 10,000 job profiles.

Three levels of certificates standardize skills that indicate the certificate holder is job ready. The three levels allow an individual to advance his or her skill level in order to qualify for more jobs.

Bronze Level Indicates the certificate holder possesses core employability skills for approximately 30% of the profiled jobs.

Silver Level Indicates the certificate holder possesses core employability skills for approximately 65% of the profiled jobs.

Gold Level Indicates the certificate holder possesses core employability skills for approximately 90% of the profiled jobs.