Crains New York | by Chris Bragg
A certification program that is the cornerstone of New York’s job-training strategy for young adults is deeply flawed and almost entirely ignored by employers, a report to be released Monday says.
The certification program, the National Work Readiness Credential, is meant to help prep young, inexperienced workers for their first forays into employment. Job-training centers that take two major streams of state government funding are required to administer the certification test for the credential and offer eight-week training sessions.
But of about 12,000 young adults who did at least some of the preparation for the test in 2011, only 317 ended up passing, according to JobsFirstNYC, an organization that works to connect young people with jobs. The group found that 68% of white people who ended up taking the test passed while 69% of African-Americans failed.
