Challenge
To enroll in the Adult Diploma Program at Apollo Career Center, applicants need a WorkKeys composite score of 13 or higher plus meet their credential program required scores. Historically, approximately 90% of applicants did not have the basic skills needed to meet the WorkKeys requirement. This posed a challenge in credential completion as well as workforce readiness in key industries.

Solution
Apollo Career Center worked in collaboration with their local Aspire program to start a WorkKeys Prep class. The class focused on skill building in foundational math, reading and comprehension. Applicants also had access to additional academic support for the three Work Keys areas of focus, Graphic Literacy, Workplace Documents and Applied Math.

Results
Improved performance was noted in all students and every student that continued with the Work Keys prep classes achieved the scores required for both NCRC certification and to be enrolled in the Adult Diploma Program.  The ADP student completion rate went from 43 %( 2015-2016) to 74 %( 2016-2017) and 71 %( 2017-2018). Aspire has saved Apollo approximately $20,000 each year in student remediation instructor expenses by providing the WorkKeys prep class. All students that have completed a minimum of 40 hours in the Aspire WorkKeys prep class have shown progress in one or more areas on their post TABE.  NCRC scores are higher with those who attended the prep class and pre and post TABE score data support these increases.

Challenge
Adena Health System has a high volume of job openings for registered and/or certified medical assistants. They are in need of trained, skilled clinical medical assistants who are currently registered or certified or are eligible to sit for a national registered or certified medical assistant exam through any of the following organizations: American Association of medical Assistants, American Medical Technologist, or American Allied Health. Pickaway-Ross’s traditional 929-hour program alone is not enough to fill the void in Adena’s workforce and there is not a large enough pool of qualified candidates in the area to keep up with the growth of their organization.

Solution
By forming an employer educational partnership, PRCTC staff worked in conjunction with Adena Health System’s education department to design a program that would train current, entry-level employees of the organization to become clinical medical assistants, thus assisting with placement of medical assistants into Adena’s current and future medical assistant openings. The curriculum was custom designed to fill the organization’s needs, including Administrative Medical Assistants and Clinical Medical Assistants I and II. Upon completion of training, employees would be able to sit for and pass the Registered Medical Assistant (RMA) examination and/or continue their education.

In order to accomplish this, a variety of steps were taken. PRCTC provided pre-entrance WorkKeys examinations to those with interest in the program. Participating employees were required to score at the same level as those students entering the traditional program for
certified medical assisting. Academic support was available through PRCTC Aspire program if necessary. PRCTC would provide all training and textbooks for the program that would take place on site at Adena Health System’s PACAR Center which includes a simulated lab space.

For the initial class, 7 employees were trained and all 7 passed the training. They will be taking the certification examination soon- results hopefully released prior to the conference. This customized course allowed Adena Health System to utilize current employees to fill open positions for which they were not previously qualified. This had a profound impact on the organization and the employee as well.

Results
The initial run of the program was a success and another program is being finalized as other employees are now eager to participate in career development by furthering their education and move into other opportunities within the organization. PRCTC is currently working on the final scheduling of the next class because more employees became interested after the initial program started and Adena Health System had an interest list already building before the first course finished. This has also opened up the possibility of additional training for students and employees wishing to move to other career pathways, such as nursing, in the future. An added benefit of this collaboration is the impact to the relationship between Adena and PRCTC that continues to grow rapidly. Once, Adena was simply a clinical site for students and now they are training partners, advisory members, and PRCCTC also co-hosts a community Health Expo that serves over 1,000 community members each year.

Data is still being collected on the outcomes of this new program.  Anticipated impacts include reduced costs in recruiting and reduced turnover due to employee development and engagement.

Challenge
WCATC was contacted by a Kettering City Schools(KCS) to assist in their pre-hire selection process for 6 executive secretarial positions. KCS wanted to identify the most qualified candidates for the 16 internal candidates who had applied and needed consultation on which
assessments best fit their needs to give hiring managers a snapshot of the skillset of each candidate.

Solution
WCATC utilized four assessments in PAN (Gordon Personal Profile Employment Selection Report, Office Skills Battery, MS Word 2010 and MS Excel 2010) to assess the skillset of each candidate. All 6 positions were filled internally, creating 6 additional vacancies throughout the organization. KCS then requested additional assessment for those positions in order to identify the most qualified candidates. Additional assessments were administered for both external and 3 internal candidates as a part of the selection process. In order to accommodate candidates, testing hours at WCATC were adjusted to include extended or evening hours and flexible
scheduling was achieved as a result of instant access to assessments available through PAN.

Results
As a result of this partnership, the relationship with KCS has deepened. There is a newfound relationship with administration; WCATC has collaborated with the school to network with high school senior classes and intervention specialists to nurture a recruitment pipeline for the Adult Education programs, GED testing, and State of Ohio graduation requirements. Since embarking upon this project, this process has been used with 6 different school districts in the area. This has created additional value and efficiency in the recruitment process for each partner district.