FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DCC WORKFORCE SERVICES OFFER

WORKKEYS ASSESSMENTS

DANVILLE, VA, April 6, 2006 -- WorkKeys Assessments for persons interested in obtaining one of Virginia’s Career Readiness Certificates (CRC) are scheduled for this Spring. Sessions will be held during April and May in Danville and Halifax County.

Virginia's Career Readiness Certificate was created to assist employers by certifying that a recipient possesses core skills in applied math, reading for information, and locating information—skills that are required by more than 85% of all jobs in the country.

Individuals can earn three levels of Career Readiness Certificates based on their test performance: Bronze level signifies that a recipient possesses skills for approximately 30% of the jobs profiled by WorkKeys in these three specific skill areas. Silver signifies that a recipient possesses skills for approximately 65% of jobs profiled by WorkKeys in these areas. Gold signifies that a recipient possesses skills for 90% of jobs profiled by WorkKeys in the three areas.

If you qualify for Virginia’s Workforce Centers’ services, you can receive a voucher to take the CRC Assessment at no cost.  Interested individuals can only register for one testing session, with a maximum of 20 people per session. When testing, you must bring your original voucher and photo identification to assessment site. Photocopies are not valid forms of ID. The test will take approximately 3 ½ hours to complete. The only up front requirement for testing is that you must have completed 10^th grade if you do not have a high school diploma or GED.

City of Danville Sites: The assessments will be administered in Danville at DCC’s RCATT Building (121 Slayton Avenue) on these dates:

• Tuesday, April 18 (9:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m.)

• Tuesday, April 25 (9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.)

• Tuesday, May 9    (9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.)

Halifax County Sites: The assessments will be administered in Halifax County at the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center (820 Bruce Street, South Boston) on these dates:

• Friday, April 21, 2006 (9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.) Hope Room

• Monday, April 24, 2006 (9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.) Smith Room

• Monday, April 24, 2006 (3:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.) Crews Room

• Wednesday, April 26, 2006 (9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.) Smith Room

• Tuesday, May 2, 2006 (6:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.) Perkins Room

For more information about Career Readiness Certificates or WorkKeys Assessments, please contact Nettie Simon-Owens, Coordinator of Workforce Services, at 434.797.6438, nsimon-owens@dcc.vccs.edu.