Determining the Usefulness of the WorkKeys Assessment for Advancing Wisconsin’s Collaborative Career Readiness Effort

Abstract

Terms like skills gap and career readiness are used so frequently that they almost become trite. When digging further into the conversations surrounding these terms, there are many similarities. Ultimately, the focus is on workforce development and the solution may lie in education and industry stakeholders taking a collaborative approach to addressing the issue. The recent statewide implementation of the ACT WorkKeys assessment in Wisconsin’s secondary public schools, as a measure of career readiness, provided an opportunity to research the awareness of that initiative. Using a modified Delphi methodology, a 30-member panel of experts representing secondary education, post-secondary education, and business and industry was formed to address the regional awareness and perceived value of the WorkKeys assessments. Additionally, the panel identified ideas and strategies for how the WorkKeys assessment could be used as a tool across the regional workforce development system to address career readiness/skills gap goals and workforce development goals in collaboration. The consensus of the panel’s contributions resulted in 12 themes to guide the regional approach to workforce development efforts incorporating WorkKeys in the greater Chippewa Valley.