The WorkKeys System

Across the country, employers, educators, labor organizations and state agencies are working together to ensure that students and employees in their communities are adequately prepared for higher-skill, higher-wage jobs.

Heart of Georgia Technical College is offering WorkKeys, ACT's comprehensive system for improving the workforce by using Job Profiling, Skill Assessments and Training Programs.  Companies that use WorkKeys to assess their incoming and current workforce typically achieve substantial benefits, including the following:  improved employee selection and advancement procedures, reduced turnover, reduced overtime, fewer legal challenges over the hiring processes and increased productivity.

Designed to function in three stages, WorkKeys ensures that you have the right people staffing the right positions.

• Working with your experienced employees, ACT-authorized job profilers evaulate the key skills and levels of competency required for specific jobs in your organization.
• Then ACT's standardized WorkKeys skill assessments are administered to your job applicants and/or employees to pinpoint their current skill levels in up to nine critical areas.
• Your organization then compares the skill levels demonstrated by each test taker to the minimum skill levels required for the profiled jobs - enabling you to immediately evaluate an applicant's qualifications or determine the training needs of your current employees.

WorkKeys measures nine foundational workplace skills:

• Applied Mathematics *
• Applied Technology
• Listening
• Locating Information *
• Observation
• Reading for Information *
• Teamwork
• Writing
• Business Writing

* Applied Mathematics, Location Information and Reading for Information are assessed free of charge in the state of Georgia at any authorized ACT testing center.

For more information on the Work Ready Program and Heart of Georgia Technical College's role, please contact Amy L. Harrelson, Work Ready & Continuing Education Coordinator at HGTC - phone (478) 274-3010 or email aharrelson@heartofgatech.edu.