Smart Futures

Innovative career education programs for Pennsylvania's education community

Archive for category Keys2Work

Preparing Pennsylvania Students to Compete in the 21st Century Workplace

Aug 30

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Pittsburgh, PA, August 30, 2006 – Smart Futures, a Pittsburgh-based non-profit that provides career development resources to Pennsylvania’s education and training community, has received a $25,000 grant from Mellon Financial Corporation to expand their three programs across the Commonwealth. Mellon Financial Corporation has supported the efforts of Smart Futures’ flagship program, Keys2Work, since the program inception in 2001.

Smart Futures’ Executive Director, David Mosey, stated “Mellon’s support of Smart Futures’ career development mission elaborates on the very real connection between the educational preparation of our youth and the impending needs of the employers in our region.” Further, Mosey stated, “Pittsburgh’s philanthropic community in general has responded very early in supporting many regional efforts that address both the impending workforce shortage and growing need for a skilled and prepared workforce. Their financial support of our efforts locally, and now Statewide, has greatly assisted in our advocacy that all students should be prepared to enter into jobs that are at or above the living wage of, and the employment needs of, Pennsylvania businesses.

Previously announced grant awards for 2006/07 include The Heinz Endowments, DSF Charitable Trust, Mary Hillman Jennings Foundation, The Buhl Foundation, and the United States Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. The Smart Futures’ programs supported by these grants are Keys2Work, MyCareerInsight, PA eMentoring and a newly developing financial literacy program.

 

ABOUT SMART FUTURES: Smart Futures’ mission is to provide innovative, affordable career development programs to Pennsylvania’s education and training community. Smart Futures distinguishes itself by providing high-quality training, monitoring and ongoing support to its customers. Each of Smart Futures’ programs are ultimately designed to support the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s academic standards including the newly adopted standards for Career Readiness and Work, as well as the national No Child Left Behind and Workforce Investment Act agendas. For more information on Smart Futures or their toolkit of programs go to www.smartfutures.org or call 412-288-3900.

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The Heinz Endowments Supports Education and Career Development Programs Across Pennsylvania

May 31

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The Heinz Endowments Supports Education and Career Development Programs Across Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, PA, May 31, 2006 – Located in downtown Pittsburgh, Smart Futures announced today the award of two grants totaling $360,000 from The Heinz Endowments. The Heinz Endowments supports efforts to make southwestern Pennsylvania a premier place to live and work, a center of learning and educational excellence, and a home to diversity and inclusion. In line with the objectives of The Heinz Endowments, Smart Futures’ mission is to install innovative career programs within Pennsylvania’s education and training community, supporting Pennsylvania’s employers’ needs for a more prepared workforce.

A $300,000 grant from the Vira I Heinz Endowment will be used to expand Smart Futures’ three programs, Keys2Work, PA e-Mentor, and My Career Insight, into schools and community based organizations across the Commonwealth. Based upon successfully providing the program to over 70,000 students throughout Southwestern PA, Smart Futures anticipates program implementation in 53 new counties through 420 school districts, 29 Intermediate Units, and 23 Workforce Investment Areas. The Howard Heinz Endowments awarded the second grant that focuses on a new initiative of Smart Futures. The $60,000 planning grant provides for the research of an on-line financial literacy program that could be integrated into, and augment the three existing career-development programs of Smart Futures. Smart Futures monitors the needs of the education and career-development community, and responds through the development of programs that help to fill the gaps.

DSF Charitable Foundation Supports Career Readiness Program in Non-Public Schools

Apr 27

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DSF Charitable Foundation Supports Career Readiness Program in Non-Public Schools

Pittsburgh, PA, April 27, 2006 – Smart Futures, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Pennsylvania become known for the quality of its workforce, announced today a $100,000 two-year grant from DSF Charitable Foundation. The purpose of the grant is to expand the Keys2Work program into the southwestern PA private and non-traditional school sector. The web-based curriculum aligns and remediates basic academic skills with a participant’s chosen career or educational path.

Non-public schools emphasize academic rigor, but generally do not offer programs that guide students in aligning their academic skills with their future career path or post-secondary education decision. “Smart Futures looks to support non-traditional school choices by offering these students an equal playing field with the public school students who have successfully completed the Keys2Work program,” said David Mosey, Executive Director, Smart Futures.

The career-based skill remediation and credentialing programs of Smart Futures, Keys2Work, MyCareerInsight, and PA e-Mentoring, are primarily delivered through intermediary partners such as intermediate units, workforce investment boards, and community based organizations. Keys2Work is currently being used by over 20,000 participants in nearly 200 schools districts, career and technical education centers, intermediate units, community based organizations, and workforce investment areas throughout Pennsylvania.

Department of Labor Initiatives Winter 2006

Jan 20

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Westmoreland/Fayette WIB Assists Students

The Westmoreland-Fayette Workforce Investment Board (WIB) is helping high school students assess and improve their math and reading skills through Keys2Work program. Keys2Work is an on-line program that allows schools and training organizations to provide students with career-based skill improvement curriculum and an assessment that documents those skills for employers and post-secondary institutions. Community-based youth programs, which are supported financially by the WIB, are required to enroll their youth participants in Keys2Work. These programs are found in all Fayette County school districts, thirteen Westmoreland County school districts and three Career and Technology Centers.

The Keys2Work program has four steps: MEASURE, EXPLORE, IMPROVE and CERTIFY. In MEASURE, youths take quick pretests in math and reading that determine their current skill levels and equate this learning with an average wage. Youth then choose favorite careers by EXPLORing careers and industry clusters that match their interests. Students spend the bulk of their time in IMPROVE where they have unlimited access to curriculum assigned to target their specific skill gaps. Curriculum activity is tracked and progress can be aligned to both occupational requirements and to academic improvement, including progress towards the Pennsylvania State Standards Assessments. As a final step, students CERTIFY their skills by taking rigorous WorkKeys tests in math and reading. Each student is awarded a Foundation Skills Certificate, endorsed by prominent business leaders within each of the five regional priority industry clusters: Manufacturing, Healthcare & Biotechnology, Hospitality & Tourism, Financial Services and Information Technology.

Since its inception, the Westmoreland-Fayette WIB has been committed to leading workforce development in Westmoreland and Fayette counties. Last year using Keys2Work, 149 at-risk youth raised their anticipated future wages an average of $8,256. By supporting the use of Keys2Work, the WIB is helping students to assess their skills for jobs they are interested in with the skills /standards defined by the employer.

The Missing Link , TEQ Magazine, Sept 2004

Sep 1

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Local Initiatives Connect Workforce Education to Economic Development
By: Evan Pattak

When John Brown was a high school student, he thought he might pursue a career in restaurant management but wasn’t sure if he had the right vocation — or the right region. Then he attended … [cont]

Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Assessment program helps high school students, work candidates see…

Oct 17

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Keys2Work had a feature article on the front page of the Post Gazette’s business section Sunday!

Pittsburgh Business Times: Keys2Work Program Helps Link Students with Educational Programs

Mar 14

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Keys2Work Program Helps Link Students with Educational Programs

Region lands grants to attract, retain youth – Pittsburgh Business Times:

Feb 7

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Region lands grants to attract, retain youth – Pittsburgh Business Times:.

Tests will help students key in on careers

Nov 14

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By Kellie B. Gormly, TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, November 14, 2002
Your local news 
About the writer

Kellie B. Gormly is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review staff writer and can be reached at 412-320-7824 or via e-mail.

Ways to get us

West Allegheny High School sophomores who are considering future careers will soon take tests to determine whether their dreams match their abilities.West Allegheny is one of more than 90 schools in southwestern Pennsylvania utilizing the Keys2Work program, a growing Pittsburgh-based operation that administers three 45-minute American College Testing WorkKeys skills tests. The tests pinpoint which careers match a student’s skills and interests, and which skills a student must improve if he or she is set on a certain vocation.

Students set on becoming lawyers, for instance, might discover deficiencies in reading for information or in listening and writing. The test then would point to the need to improve in those areas or pick another career.

“It’s a reality check for kids to see that you need this level of math or English,” said Lynn Birnie, guidance counselor at West Allegheny High School. “Most students seem motivated to improve on those skills if they don’t score high enough. If you know what you’re working toward, you’re more likely to work harder.”

During class time in the spring semester, about 10,000 southwestern Pennsylvania students will take the ACT tests in applied math, reading for information and locating information, which tests the ability to interpret information from charts or graphs. The students take the tests with pencil and paper but analyze the results on-line once they get their scores from the school, said Jeffrey Curry, director of community outreach for Keys2Work.

The Web site, which stores students’ files, pinpoints the areas that need improvement and lists strong career matches based on interests indicated. It also lists many employers and the qualifications they seek for jobs, along with potential apprenticeships. Students can access and update their files for up to 10 years after taking the tests.

“Its purpose is to give students a forward vision as to what their potential fits are in the work place based on their current skills, interests and desired level of academic achievement,” Curry said. “The goal is to get them on board and thinking about careers in 10th grade and to be able to develop a solid path in school.”

Two years ago, West Allegheny first tried Keys2Work with a group of about 10 to 12 kids. All the school’s 244 sophomores participated last year, and will again this year, Birnie said. She said the sophomore year is an ideal time to participate in Keys2Work because when the teens become juniors, they can sit down with counselors to evaluate their test results. Then, they can evaluate which college, trade school or other training avenue to aim for after graduation.

“In order to find an appropriate career, it has to be something they’re both interested in and have the skills for,” Birnie said. Keys2Work “helps them plan their path and helps them know where they need to be.”

Keys2Work started in 2001 with grants from several local agencies — including The Pittsburgh Foundation and Heinz Endowments — that make the program available to schools for free. The number of students taking the test this year will be more than double the 4,500 who took the test last year, Curry said.

Birnie said she has received a lot of positive feedback from students about Keys2Work. They are able to retrieve their results and search for career information from the Web site, at their leisure, and many students have discovered career possibilities they would not have thought of otherwise, Birnie said.

“The kids do really like it — it’s gone over very well in our school,” she said. “We look forward to doing it in the future. ”

Key skills

Pittsburgh-based Keys2Work gives students a chance to test their skills and interests against possible vocations. Seven skills examined by Keys2Work:

  • Reading for information
  • Applied mathematics
  • Locating information
  • Applied technology
  • Observation
  • Listening
  • Writing

    • Perspectives: Skills assessment key to improving job placement

    Sep 29

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    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Article Pittsburgh Post Gazette

    Sunday, September 29, 2002

    By Linda Dickerson

    Perspectives: Skills assessment key to improving job placement

    The gap between the business community and the K-12 education community continues to widen. Both communities speak different languages and both cast blame on each other for the problems that exist in each of their worlds.

    As a small step towards closing this gap, local nonprofit Keys2Work created a skills-based career development and job matching system that enables area high schoolers to see how the skills that they are developing relate to the world of work. “It’s the SAT for the workplace,” explains Keys2Work Executive Director David Mosey.

    Linda A. Dickerson is a principal in Dickerson & Mangus Ink., an issues consulting firm. Her column appears weekly.

    Mosey believes that once students understand how what they are learning in school links to the jobs to which they aspire, their dedication to learning increases substantially. “They’ve never seen their academics related to work, and they’ve never seen their academics related to earning power,” Mosey said.

    Keys2Work uses the WorkKeys assessment developed by ACT to help students to determine how well prepared they are for the jobs that interest them. The system documents their work skills in key areas.

    This provides employers specific insights to their prospective new employee’s capabilities, and these insights give the prospective employee an advantage in the hiring process. Employers are much more interested in hiring a known commodity.

    The WorkKeys assessments consist of three separate 45-minute tests that measure a student’s ability to read for information, locate information and apply mathematics. Generally administered at the 10th grade level, the WorkKeys assessments provide feedback to students in time for them to refocus their academic energies before graduation.

    Mosey said students use their test scores as a guide to redirect their studies and improve their knowledge in areas in which they are deficient.

    As students perfect certain skills, they can document their newly developed competencies by scoring higher on the WorkKeys assessments — helping improve their opportunities with prospective employers.

    “We really want to be about opening doors,” Mosey said, adding that pertains to the business community as well, where employers need to appreciate and endorse Keys2Work.

    First, the business community must supply ACT with information to profile available job types. Already, more than 1,000 job types are listed.

    ACT takes the information about every job and updates it every three years, Mosey said. “The process is rigorous, but simple. We ask employers what’s required on the job.”

    Once they understand the job requirements, ACT develops the assessment tools for children to use in evaluating their own ability to meet these requirements. Once they identify their skill gaps, students can download from their computers a customized Skill Improvement Plan that meets their individual needs.

    “By relating the importance of academics to children, we know that they’ll improve,” Mosey said.

    At many schools, “children are not regularly concentrating on improving their skills in the areas that will best equip them to be employed ultimately in the discipline of their choice.”

    For 10,000 10th-graders in the nine counties that Keys2Work serves, this will no longer be true. These students will take the WorkKeys assessment.

    To obtain the most basic of jobs, students must score at a level 3 or above on the WorkKeys exams. Unfortunately, Mosey estimates that about 10 percent of the children in Pittsburgh Public Schools fall below that level. In other words, about one in 10 graduates are not adequately prepared to succeed in entry-level employment.

    The first step in resolving such a problem is defining it, and that’s where WorkKeys comes in. Both young people and employees are well served by this approach.