Work Readiness 200 Trainers Guide

Work 200 Trainer’s Guide Quick Start (1 minute): Direct learners to read and do the Quick Start. Quick Start: Introduce yourself to someone you don’t know and ask that person to list three things s/he hopes to learn from this training.

Introduction and Opening Statements (2 minutes): Once they have done the Quick Start, briefly go over introductions as necessary and quickly review the outcomes for this training. At the end of this training, the participants will have:   

Learned what work-based credentialing is and is not Learned the benchmarks required for a Ready-to-Work Certificate Reviewed how to document participant achievement

Lecture Segment #1: (10 minutes): Ask learners the following question—Does a high school diploma mean that students have at least learned the basics? Show learners the percentages (PPT Slide #2): 67% of PARENTS say YES; only 39% of EMPLOYERS say YES. Ask: Is this surprising? Why or why not? Now ask learners: What is it that employers want? Show PPT Slide # 3. Ask participants to rank the skills from 1 to 10, with 1 being the most critical and 10 the least. Ask participants to share their rankings. Now show PPT Slide # 4. Ask: Are you surprised? Why or why not? Does a high school diploma or a GED reflect what employers want? Tell participants: The truth is, traditional approaches to education are fading. Employers are far more interested in WHAT employees know and are able to DO than in a degree or diploma. Show participants PPT Slide # 5. Tell participants: These are the new world realities that your students face.

Lecture Segment #2: (10 minutes) Tell participants that in response to these new realities, the WV ABE program has devised a work-based credential called the Ready-to-Work Certificate. In the SPOKES Program, it is the credential that verifies competence in five areas. Refer participants to PPT Slide # 6. Now refer participants to PPT Slide # 7: Attendance. Tell participants: The benchmark for attendance is 90%. That means that in a 180-hour SPOKES course, the participant MUST attend a minimum of 162 hours. The learner can miss only 18 hours of class. For a class that meets six hours per day, that translates into a maximum of three days. Representatives from business and industry specifically set this benchmark. Originally, employers requested 100% attendance as a benchmark, but we decided that given our clients, a 90% level was realistic. In the real world, however, employers expect better than 90% attendance from employees. Refer participants to PPT Slide # 8: Punctuality. Tell participants: The learner in your SPOKES class is expected to treat the class as if it were a job. That means s/he is required to arrive promptly at the start of each class period and to return promptly from breaks and lunch. Some instructors use a time clock to stress the importance of this. Review PPT Slide # 9: Applied Academics. Tell learners that the ACT WorkKeys® assessments in Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics, and Locating Information are used. To receive a RTW Certificate, the learner MUST achieve a skill Level 4 in each of these assessments. Ask participants: Why did we choose skill Level 4 in Reading for Information, Locating Information, and Applied Mathematics? (Wait 5 full seconds for any answers). Show learners PPT Slide #10. Explain that ACT has collected a massive database of profiled jobs nationwide, and that a Level 4 in these three areas qualifies an applicant in basic skills for 65% of these jobs. Surrounding states, such as Virginia and Kentucky, have adopted work based certification programs based on ACT WorkKeys. Learners who score at skill Level 5 in these three areas receive a Gold Certificate; at skill Level 4 they receive a Silver Certificate. Level 3 is the Bronze Level. The Vision Shared subcommittee on credentialing has submitted a similar plan to the executive director of the WorkForceWV program, but nothing has been done with it so far. Refer participants to PPT Slide #11: Employability Skills. Tell participants: These are the skills, sometimes referred to as soft skills, which employers said they wanted employees to have on the first day of the job. Remember the earlier slide on What Employers Want? There are 21 modules for SPOKES. These are listed on a handout in your packet. Learners MUST achieve a minimum of 80% on the post-test for each module.

Go over PPT Slide # 12: Computer Literacy. Tell participants that learners will have hands-on experience with keyboarding, basic Windows operation and file management, basic word processing, and basic spreadsheets. Learners will use these computer skills as part of their Job Readiness module. They will also be using computer-based instruction (Keytrain©) to help them prepare for the WorkKeys® assessments. Refer learners to the computer skills checklist in their packet. Ask participants if they have any questions. Remind them that these benchmarks are NOT negotiable. Think and Write #1 (1 minute) Tell participants: Think about the material we’ve just covered. On one side of an index card, write one sentence that summarizes this information. Lecture Segment #3: (10 minutes) Tell participants: The Ready-to-Work Certificate will be issued only from the WV Department of Education’s Office of Adult Education and Workforce Development. You will be asked to submit a checklist with the following information. Show participants PPT Slides # 14-17. Say: To ensure consistency AND credibility, the benchmarks are not negotiable. The instructor may award certificates of participation or achievement, but not a Ready-to-Work Certificate, if the learner fails to meet minimum attendance, WorkKeys® scores, or module post-test scores. Show PPT Slide # 18. Tell participants that the benchmarks for the Certificate of Achievement are:    

90% attendance Skill level 3 of the WorkKeys assessments (Reading for Information, Locating Information, Applied Mathematics) 80% on the post-tests for all modules Completion of Introduction to Computers

Tell participants that a Certificate of Participation may be awarded if the learner has met the following criteria (PPT Slide # 19):   

87% attendance 70% on the post-tests for all modules Completion of Introduction to Computers

Pop-Up (PPT Slide #20):

Tell participants: Stand up and ask the person standing next to you a question about the material we’ve just covered (make sure no one is left out!). Give him/her a “thumbs up” if s/he answers the question to your satisfaction. Sit down when you are done. Activity Refer learners to the attendance sheet, WorkKeys score sheet, and record of pre/post tests. In groups of three or four, have the participants determine what certificate, if any, each learner will receive and why. Have each group report out to the entire group. Conclusion and Wrap Up Ask participants if they have any questions. Guide them through a Plus/Delta activity, telling you what was positive or worked for them in the session (Plus) or what could make it better or didn’t work (Delta).