Rhode Island developing work-readiness credential

Pledging to include all stakeholders and especially business, two state departments along with related agencies are collaborating on the creation of a credential that will prove to employers a young person is ready to enter the work force.
The R.I. Department of Education and the R.I. Department of Labor and Training, along with the Governors Workforce Board, are in the beginning stages of forming an advisory committee to direct creation of the credential. They are responding to long-standing complaints from employers that young people entering the job market often lack the soft skills needed to succeed.
Brandon Melton, senior vice president for human resources at Lifespan who is closely involved in the effort, said he prefers the term “core-success skills.” The term “soft skills” suggests such skills are optional and not as important as other skills, he said.
So-called soft skills are integral to any employee’s success, Melton noted, and would include aptitude in such areas as problem-solving, decision-making, teamwork and customer relations, as well as the fundamentals of punctuality, regular attendance, proper grooming and polite behavior. “These are the skills we evaluate in candidates when making decisions about hiring,” he said of the core-success components.
Melton chairs the Career Pathways Task Force, part of the Governor’s Workforce Board, and chairs the board’s Youth Development Committee, both of which will have key roles to play in development and implementation of the work-readiness credential. The task force, he noted, is made up mostly of employers.
Cooperation of the business community is essential for this program to work. “There is absolutely no question” that business input will be sought – and sought as a first step in the data-gathering process, he said, “so this will be employer-driven.” “As the senior human-resources person at the largest employer in the state, we would very much value this credential,” Melton said. “We had [more than] 185,000 applicants for about 1,200 jobs last year and we would welcome anything like [that].”
Responding to business concerns was a key driver in the genesis of this plan.
Maureen Palumbo, chief of the youth-services division at DLT and department liaison to the Governor’s Workforce Board, explained that the education department first proposed developing a work-readiness certificate “that would be meaningful to the private sector.” Andrea Castaneda, chief of accelerating school performance for RIDE, who made the initial proposal, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
The first step in the 18-month development phase, according to RIDE, is to have “business and industry focus groups identify skill gaps in entry-level jobs.” Implementation is eyed for 2013-2014 school year with a pilot project possible next year, according to RIDE.
Palumbo explained that the department regularly includes a work-readiness component in its summer youth-employment programs and, about two years ago, “embedded” work readiness into the curriculum as a pilot program at three school districts, in Lincoln, Newport and Exeter-West Greenwich. She reported “great outcomes” for the students.
Like Melton, she called work readiness “crucial” to employment success. “This is much more than interview preparation and resume writing. We teach youths how to find a job, get a job, keep a job, deal with adversity on the job and safety on the job,” Palumbo said. “It is really making [youths] much more worldly.” Rick Brooks, executive director of the Governors Workforce Board since November, said it is important that young people have “as much exposure to the work force as possible” through internships, job shadowing and mentoring, three types of workplace experiences that he said he expects the credential will recognize.
Also possible, he said, is that the credential would give youths credit for after-school jobs they find on their own.
It is a “top priority” of the work force board, Brooks said, “to increase access to work-preparedness activities for youths so when they do apply for or obtain a job they understand what the expectations of the employer are.”
Representatives of RIDE, including Castaneda, last month presented the proposal for a work-readiness credential to the Career Pathways Task Force chaired by Melton. The task force provided “very helpful feedback,” Brooks said, “as to the pros and cons and possible modifications.” Melton noted that RIDE representatives cited an “absolute commitment” to involve business in the formation and implementation of this initiative.
The 18-month development process, starting with input from business focus groups, will then proceed to these three stages, according to RIDE: business and industry review of proposed credential areas, key skills and assessment tools; business and industry agreement to recognize the credential; and integration into public schools and adult-education programs, as well as business incorporation into hiring systems. •

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