According to Iso-Trude Operations Manager Mark Venema, the Grand Haven-based company discovered the National Career Readiness Certificate through the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District. After having its jobs profiled, Iso-Trude decided the program really made sense.

The NCRC rates workers’ skill sets on a bronze, silver or gold level based on their answers to a WorkKeys test.

The company – an OEM manufacturer of custom extruded plastic profile components for a wide variety of industries – viewed the program as a viable addition to human resources.

Iso-Trude recognized that employees who were creative thinkers, problem solvers and solution implementers dictated its ability to succeed in a competitive environment. The company envisioned NCRC as an assessment tool for determining skills of key positions, objectively reviewing current skills inventory and planning for successive improvement. Additionally, Iso-Trude realized standards created through the job profiling process would help with objective review of job applicants and ensure new hires possessed appropriate foundational skills.

Implementation of the NCRC began by profiling three basic elements of Iso-Trude’s workforce – the technicians, cell leaders and operators. Venema indicated the company started with the technicians.

"They are the leaders who have experience on the lines," he said.

The three positions profiled needed to work together. Historically, skill set deficiencies led one area to shift blame upon another. The profiling process revealed a silver certificate as the appropriate standard for ensuring employees’ skill levels matched job requirements. Of the 20 employees assessed, 17 percent earned no certificate, 25 percent bronze, 50 percent silver and 8 percent gold.

In order to obtain future promotions and pay increases, said Venema, employees must reach the level of silver certification.

Objective data stemming from the test scores revealed opportunity for skill development in all three areas.

Venema said Iso-Trude helped with study materials.

With a goal of having 100 percent of its workforce earn a silver NCRC or better, the company encouraged staff to pursue training using M-TEC and KeyTrain as resources.

Iso-Trude established the Silver NCRC as the credential of choice for new applicants. According to Venema, the company brings in temporary employees, sees if they work out and then proceeds with WorkKeys testing.

An employee can learn how to perform a task, he said, but the assessment answers questions like – "do they really know math?" Reading for information and locating information remains an integral part of positions at Iso-Trude. Employees must know how to read and work from written instruction. The company has been using WorkKeys for two to three years.

"Now we’re getting into it on the operator side," Venema said of program application.

Due to the shortage of applicants who have completed testing and the cumbersome administrative process to get candidates tested, Iso-Trude has not met with strict adherence to the silver NCRC standard in all cases. The company does feel, however, that NCRC has provided information that helps facilitate hiring decisions and – in time – will positively impact the skill level of its workforce.

As Iso-Trude organizes and implements career development plans for incumbent employees, it plans to utilize NCRC in the recruiting process. The company views the program as an important tool on its quest for continued improvement. Venema has witnessed reduced scrap and operating costs as a result of implementing the NCRC requirement.