1—In a city of 45,000, over 2,000 certificates of work readiness have been issued and 57 businesses have agreed to use certificates in their hiring process…
In Grand Junction, Colorado, employers who couldn't find high-quality job applicants nevertheless disregarded resumes from the Mesa County Workforce Center, while local school district leaders sought a way to prepare students for the workforce. Because employers, educators and job seekers needed a common language that specified the skills needed in local jobs, the school district and the Workforce Center, in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, developed a certification program based on WorkKeys that enabled job seekers to demonstrate their skills to employers. They included in the program a skills-improvement component.  Read the complete story here.

2— Utility company MidAmerican Energy reduces employee turnover by 83 percent.
MidAmerican Energy Co., faced with expensive union-represented trade apprenticeship positions that required from 18 months to six years to lead to journeyman status, needed to ensure that new hires would be able to complete apprenticeships and fulfill job requirements. WorkKeys offered this employer a way to prepare job applicants for a fair selection exam that improved hiring practices, reducing turnover rates from 19% to 3% and enabling the hiring of more effective employees who were able to learn more quickly than past hires. Read the complete story here. Read the complete story here.

3— Defense contractor Northrop-Grumman saves $2 million in employee training costs.
To upgrade a work force lacking foundational skills required by their jobs, Northrop Grumman used WorkKeys to target areas in need of improvement and develop “learning prescriptions” to accomplish upgrades. Results included substantially reduced turnover rates, increased ability of employees to avoid layoffs through cross-training, and lower absentee rates. Read the complete story here. Read the complete story here.

4— Finding it difficult to hire and retain employees able to master the operation of wholly unfamiliar technology…
Nordenia USA used WorkKeys job profiling to identify skills and skill levels demanded by each plant production job. By requiring new hires and employees transferring to new positions to take the WorkKeys tests appropriate to measure necessary skills, they hired workers who could be trained quickly.  Read the complete story here.

5— Bradner Village Health Care Center and Retirement Community reduces training costs by 96 percent.
Confronting high employee turnover and frustration, this health care center and retirement community profiled four key positions to identify minimum WorkKeys-related skill level scores required for entry into each job.  By making appropriate WorkKeys scores a precondition for employment interviews, the company reduced turnover by 37%, training costs by 96% and reduced time to identify qualified applicants by 55%. Read the complete story here.

6— Where many high school students seek employment before graduation, in partnership with local colleges, community leaders and business partners…
Lake Havasu Unified School District, developed a career readiness certificate based on WorkKeys assessments. As of March 2006, 429 students have earned certificates and several businesses have begun accepting certificates when hiring. The program continues to expand. Read the complete story here.