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WIN Learning

A common language and common measure for the 
​South Carolina workforce.

Learn how South Carolina is bridging the skills gap between education and workforce in this collaborative approach to career readiness. 

South Carolina Department of Education

In December 2017, an expert panel, consisting of South Carolina employers along with educators and workforce and economic development professionals, selected WIN Learning as the state’s new career readiness assessment provider. In April 2018, just four months following contract award, WIN Learning successfully facilitated the first statewide administration of 208,000 paper-based and online assessments, spanning more than 80 school districts and 250 high schools statewide. South Carolina uses four WIN career readiness assessments to measure mastery of foundational employability and soft skills. The assessments are administered each spring to approximately 52,000 students in their third year of high school.

The results are used as an accountability measure of district and school effectiveness in preparing students for high school graduation, college, and careers. WIN Learning also provides comprehensive project planning and management services, curriculum, stakeholder training and technical assistance, student-specific credentials and score reports, data management, psychometric analysis, and technical reporting.

South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce

The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce collaborated with WIN Learning in 2018 to introduce the forward-thinking career readiness curriculum, assessment, and credentialing solution for the state workforce system and its partners including the Technical College System, Department of Adult Education, Department of Corrections, Department of Juvenile Justice, Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, community-based organizations, and employers. Successful completion of the assessments results in the South Carolina Ready to Work Credential and/or the South Carolina Essential Soft Skills Credential. Both credentials are state-sponsored and recognized by employers statewide. In addition to curriculum, assessment and credentialing services, WIN Learning provides implementation planning; stakeholder marketing, training, and technical assistance; and data management and reporting. 

WIN Learning also offers WIN Job Analysis services, linking the assessment standards and resulting credentials to employer hiring and training requirements.

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SCDE Office of Assessment
Job Analysis
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South Carolina Ready to Work Credentials

Credentials employers recognize and value in today's workforce.

While professional attitudes and work habits are essential for the 21st century economy, they are often overlooked in educational programs. South Carolina Ready to Work Credentials help learners develop and demonstrate attitudes and behaviors that are critical to career and life success. Work Ready Math, Work Ready Data, Work Ready Reading, Communicating Effectively, Conveying Professionalism, Promoting Teamwork and Collaboration, and Thinking Critically and Solving Problems are key components of South Carolina's comprehensive approach to preparing students emerging and job seekers reemerging into the workforce for success while providing future employers with workplace-ready candidates. 

Work Ready Credential  


The Work Ready assessments are based on validated career readiness assessments that provide a correlation of the skills a learner demonstrates and the skills needed to prepare for a job according to the U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET Job Zones Framework.

The Work Ready Credential provides a customized credential that learners and jobseekers can add to their portfolio to show that they have mastered foundational academic skills and are ready to work. 

There are four credential levels: Achievement Levels 2, 3, 4, and 5. Each Achievement Level correlates to an O*NET Job Zone. The higher the learner or jobseeker scores, the greater his or her readiness for careers in higher-level O*NET Job Zones. 

The credential level is determined by the lowest score across all three assessments. For example, a learner or jobseeker who scores a Level 4 in Work Ready Math, a Level 4 in Work Ready Reading, and a Level 3 in Work Ready Data will earn an Achievement Level 3 credential because the lowest score was Level 3.

Essential Soft Skills Credential 


The Essential Soft Skills Assessment is scored as Pass or Not Passed based on the total questions answered correctly. 

Each question is a workplace based scenario where participants select the "best" and "worst" way to handle a specific situation to demonstrate mastery of appropriate behaviors and attitudes employers look for most when making hiring and retention decisions. The attitudinal and behavioral skills measured on the Essential Soft Skills Assessment are communicating effectively, conveying professionalism, promoting teamwork and collaboration, and thinking critically and solving problems.

Participants need to earn a scale score of 203 or greater on the Essential Soft Skills Assessment to earn the Essential Soft Skills Credential. 

The South Carolina Work Ready Credentials are a validation of the competencies employers value most.

 

Additional South Carolina Career Readiness Resources:

Work Ready Courseware provides participants with an initial placement to identify current skill levels in each of the modules, and to identify further training and education along their career path. The participant will enter a module at a level appropriate for their skills and then progresses at their own pace based on their performance on the placement test. The Work Ready Courseware provide participants with a personalized profile of how prepared they are for the Work Ready Assessment. 

Essential Soft Skills Courseware helps participants develop and demonstrate attitudinal and behavioral skills that are essential to success in the workplace and school. These competencies are a key component of WIN’s comprehensive approach to preparing learners and job seekers for success and providing future employers with workplace-ready candidates. The Essential Soft Skills Courseware contains over 60 hours of offline materials to provide a blended approach to reinforce the skills online.

Download additional information.

To learn more about how to become a partner, please contact WIN Learning at info@winlearning.com or call 888-717-9461.

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