| In the Chattanooga area, as with any region, a highly motivated, well-trained workforce is critical to continued economic growth and prosperity and enhanced quality of life. Recognizing both the challenges and opportunities in today's workplace, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce is committed to improving workforce quality.
The Chamber's Workforce Development Program brings businesses and services together to address the region's workforce needs. The program's goal is to insure that an available labor force with the skills and education necessary to meet employment demands of the 21st century is produced and retained within the Chattanooga area. For more information please contact Mattie Moran, Director of Education and Workforce Development, at 423-763-4339 or mmoran@chattanoogachamber.com. |
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| jobs.timesfreepress.com |
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The Chamber and the Chattanooga Times Free Press have partnered to form jobs.timesfreepress.com. The website, free to job seekers, generates more traffic than any other local online job posting service and is the only business solution that combines local job advertising in print with access to a national online network of job seekers. Go to jobs.timesfreepress.com.
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| Tri-State Workforce Alliance |
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Established in January 2006, the Tri-State Regional Workforce Alliance brings together workforce and economic development entities from northeast Alabama, Northwest Georgia and southeast Tennessee to advance the region’s economic competitiveness through collaboration of efforts to promote talent development of the area’s workforce. www.TristateWorkForce.com.
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| High School Initiatives |
The Chamber's Workforce Development Committee began its high school initiatives with a career fair for 8th graders which was designed to help guide the students through their high school courses with a career in mind.
The committee then decided to continue an association with the students with an activity each year throughout high school that would demonstrate the importance of education and how it affects their earning potential. Through these activities we are helping develop the workforce of the future.
These programs are presented in all 18 Hamilton County Department of Education High Schools reaching 15,000 students with over 1000 community volunteers each school year with an economic impact of over $1,000,000 in volunteer hours contributed to our school system. |
Career Crunch. This annual program is a career fair for 8th graders offered to introduce students to careers and the education/training needed to pursue these careers. During the two-day event students talk one-on-one with professionals about their careers.
Reality Check. Reality Check is a mock exercise that provides 9th graders with an understanding of household budgeting challenges in the grown-up world. It also stresses the connection between education and income. Reality Check is offered at each high school every year. Community volunteers are needed to assist with this event.
Get A Job. Prepares the 21st Century Workforce. Interviewing skills, completing job applications and dressing for success are among the topics discussed with 10th graders at local high schools
The program is the latest in the Chamber’s series of career awareness initiatives, designed to help prepare area high school students for success on the job.
In addition to the Chamber, other sponsors include Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM) Chattanooga, Chattanooga State Technical Community College, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Hamilton County Schools, Komatsu, Tennessee Valley Authority and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Who wants to be a Millionaire? This money management program for 11th graders focuses on savings and credit card management through the use of an interactive PowerPoint presentation.
The College & Career Fair. The College & Career Fair gives 11th and 12th graders the opportunity to network with college representatives and members of the business community. Vendors participate by setting up booths and sharing information on their college/university as well as businesses sharing career opportunities at their company.
Other initiatives being explored by the Education and Workforce Development Committee include expanding the existing school to work programs regionally, job shadow programming, and internships.
If you would like to volunteer to help present these programs to high school students, contact Cathy Humble at 423-763-4321 or chumble@chattanoogachamber.com.
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| WorkKeysâ |
| The implementation of WorkKeysâ in a community ensures that students and employees are adequately prepared for higher-skill, higher-wage jobs. Employers can identify and develop workers for a wide range of skilled jobs. Employers also profile and identify specific levels of skills needed for positions. Students and workers can document and advance their employability skills, and educational institutions can tailor instructional programs to help students acquire the skills employers need. |
What is WorkKeysâ?
WorkKeysâ is a national, industry-driven system of job profiling, assessment and instructional support that helps businesses identify the skills and skills levels employees must have to perform jobs effectively. It empowers businesses to make better hiring and promotion decisions and individuals to make more informed career decisions.
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| National Career Readiness Certificate |
Sometimes called "The Fourth R," readiness joins the standards—reading, writing, and arithmetic—as the 21st Century measure of capacity to enter and remain in the workforce as a contributing employee. Career Readiness refers to the ability to move on to:
• Entry-level work
• A career
• Further education |
The realities of today’s economy are well documented. Economic development in local, state, and regional areas is affected by the global economy. Individuals must attain higher skill levels than ever to get a job and stay employed. Businesses look for workers with documented skills to succeed in high performance work settings. Industry, community, and government leaders see the need for regional and state initiatives to increase workforce skills and improve the quality of life for the individuals they represent.
The National Career Readiness Certificate utilizes the WorkKeysâ assessment test developed by ACTä, a nationally recognized leader in educational testing. ACTä is best known for its college entrance exam, which measures one’s potential to succeed in the academic world. Likewise, the WorkKeysâ system measures a candidate’s potential to succeed in the business/working world. The WorkKeysâ system provides an innovative approach to bridge the skills gap in the workplace.
What is a National Career Readiness Certificate?
A career readiness certificate is a portable credential based upon the WorkKeysâ assessments that confirm to employers that an individual possesses the basic workplace skills required for 21st Century jobs. The Career Readiness Certificate assesses in three different skill areas:
• 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 ACTä, which contains about 10,000 job profiles.
What are the levels of Career Readiness Certificates?
Three levels of certificates standardize skills that indicate the certificate holder is job ready. The three levels allow an individual to advance his/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.
For individuals who do not initially achieve the Career Readiness Certificate, assessment results will indicate the targeted training needed to achieve the skill level(s) necessary to obtain the certificate. The Tennessee Career Centers will assist those individuals in increasing their skills levels through the use of KeyTrainä software.
Who endorses the Career Readiness Certificate?
The Career Readiness Certificate is endorsed by:
• Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce
• Chattanooga Housing Authority
• Chattanooga Manufacturers’ Association
• Chattanooga State Community College
• City of Chattanooga
• Hamilton County
• Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development
• Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development
• Tennessee Department of Human Services
• Signal Centers
• Southeast Tennessee Development District
• Southeast Tennessee Workforce Investment Board
What benefits from participating in the Career Readiness Certificate program will I realize as a business owner or manager?
Benefits to business and industry include:
• Guarantees a better quality job applicant
• Reduces hiring expenses
• Reduces attrition
• Business driven system
• Legally defensible
How do I get started?
Contact your nearest Tennessee Career Center.
(Area Code 423)
Chattanooga 894-5354
Athens 745-2028
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| KeyTrainä |
| KeyTrainä is a comprehensive, yet easy-to-use system for improving the basic skills measured by the WorkKeys® Employment System. Using KeyTrainä, you can assess your potential WorkKeysâ score, review topics in each WorkKeys skill area, and practice problems similar to those on an actual WorkKeysâ assessment. |
The KeyTrainä system includes targeted, self-paced instruction, pre- and post-assessments, a complete learning management system and an occupational job profiles database. These components can be used to help individuals learn, practice and demonstrate the skills they need to succeed in the jobs and careers they desire.
KeyTrainä is available at the following locations:
Chattanooga State 697-3100
Tennessee Career Centers
Chattanooga 894-5354
Athens 745-2028
KeyTrainä at Hixson High School
The Chamber piloted a career readiness program at Hixson High School during the 2009-2010 school year.
141 students used KeyTrain with 659 hours logged in KeyTrain. 90% of the students who worked in the curriculum raised their skill level by at least one in Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics or Locating Information. While these three skills were the majority of the hours logged in KeyTrain, other courses were utilized such as Writing/Business Writing, Observation, Teamwork and Listening.
Hixson HS was very innovative in the way they implemented the KeyTrain curriculum into multiple program areas: (1) ACT Preparation, (2) Special Populations, (3) Health Care Careers Clinical, (4) Credit Recovery, (5) ESL, (6) English and (7) Business Classes.
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