Essential Workplace Skills Regional Certificate

Welcome to the website for the Greater Capital Region's Essential Workplace Skills Regional Certificate. Throughout our 11 counties (Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, Washington) there are many schools, chambers of commerce, workforce agencies, and non-profit organizations that offer programs to improve the work readiness skills of youth and adults.

The Essential Workplace Skills are standards that are based on the needs of business regarding the skills all work ready applicants should have.

The purpose of this Regional Certificate is to:

• Provide one set of identifiable standards for workplace skills that employers throughout the region can rely on when they interview someone with this certificate.
• Offer a place for work readiness programs to share thoughts, concerns, curricula and methods of administration that can help programs become even more successful.
• Develop a regional marketing message to the business community that will give job seeking graduates an edge in finding employment.

We encourage all local work readiness programs to apply for the Essential Workplace Skills Regional Certificate endorsement. This endeavor is currently being overseen by the four Workforce Investment Boards that represent the Greater Capital Region, so for more information about the endorsement process contact your local Workforce Investment Board. Contact information can be found at: http://www.labor.state.ny.us/workforcenypartners/lwia.shtm. There is no cost for participating.

You do not have to be a participating program to use this website. The website offers users both a Discussion Board to share thoughts and concerns, and an Electronic Library where users can upload or download materials used to operate successful work readiness programs, including more information about the regional certificate.