Under this agreement, BellCurve Labs will offer and administer ACT WorkKeys assessments in India. BellCurve Labs is both a developer and an aggregator of eLearning resources. In August of 2016 they chose India for the initial launch of their online learning suite—the most comprehensive line of eLearning tools on the global market. The inclusion of ACT WorkKeys assessments into BellCurve’s toolbox provides BellCurve Labs with a seamless battery of solutions that support lifelong growth and learning.
ACT WorkKeys assessments measure job-related skills such as applied mathematics, reading for information, and locating information. Individuals who meet benchmark scores on three core WorkKeys exams earn an ACT Career Readiness Certificate, verifying that they possess the skills employers deem essential to workplace success.
“ACT workforce certification will enable employers in India to confidently identify, select, and hire qualified candidates,” said ACT Chief Commercial Officer Suzana Delanghe. “The agreement between ACT and BellCurve Labs aims to help thousands of workers in India take advantage of new opportunities to improve their work lives and careers.”
“ACT workforce certification provides Indian employers with a standard upon which employees can be evaluated—not only domestically, but internationally as well,” said BellCurve Labs CEO Milind Joshi. “For employees, it helps define the path upward within the workplace—one based on merit and valid measurement, not guesswork. For students, the WorkKeys assessments can help identify basic strengths and weaknesses so that they can be best prepared when the time comes to enter the workplace.”
India has the world’s largest workforce, in excess of 500 million people. According to India’s Labour Bureau, 30 million workers are added to the Indian workforce yearly, but only 2 percent of those in the workforce are considered “skilled.”
In a recent feasibility study conducted by ACT among employers in Pune, approximately 90 percent of respondents said that workplace skills need to be assessed, while over 92 percent said that the skills assessed by ACT WorkKeys are important.
More than 2.2 million WorkKeys assessments are administered annually in the U.S., and over 3.6 million ACT Career Readiness Certificates have been issued since the credential was introduced in 2006. Presently, 15,000 US companies recognize WorkKeys Career Readiness certification.
About ACT
ACT is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people achieve education and workplace success. Headquartered in Iowa City, Iowa, ACT is trusted as a national leader in college and career readiness, providing high-quality assessments grounded in nearly 60 years of research. ACT offers a uniquely integrated set of solutions designed to provide personalized insights that help individuals succeed from elementary school through career. To learn more about ACT, visit www.act.org.
About BellCurve Labs
BellCurve Labs is an innovation-oriented corporation that seeks to redefine the educational paradigm. BellCurve Labs draws upon the rich pool of human and technical resources that are necessary to create this new paradigm. To learn more about BellCurve Labs, go to www.bellcurvelabs.com.