The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) has announced that nine students from the Elko County School District have achieved a 100% pass rate on the National Career Readiness Credential (NCRC) exams. This accomplishment was made possible through an innovative Individual Career Mapping (ICM) process, which involved seven students from Jackpot High School and two from Elko High School.
Karsten Heise, GOED’s Senior Director of Innovation and Strategic Programs, stated, “The NCRC is a trusted signal to Nevada employers that individuals are prepared to enter the workforce and can begin enterprise-specific training. In other words, they are work-ready.”
The success of these students was supported by GOED's ICM program, which integrates virtual reality technology from 3D publisher Lifeliqe and the NCLab Career Readiness Assessment. The process begins with VR field trips designed to spark interest in various career paths.
Mark Andersen, President and Co-Founder of Lifeliqe, expressed his satisfaction: “We are thrilled that Jackpot Combined School students successfully used Lifeliqe’s collection of 35 field trips focused on Nevada’s in-demand occupations to advance their labor market literacy.”
NCLab assessments play a crucial role in helping participants evaluate their capacities for jobs requiring skills in science, technology, engineering, and math. Leonard LaFrance, NCLab president, explained that their assessment is “a learn-and-apply, hands-on assessment” measuring an individual’s ability to read instructions and solve problems.
Tammy Westergard from GOED highlighted the importance of preparing for the NCRC as part of the ICM process: “I’m especially excited that the ICM process involves preparing for the NCRC, a national hallmark of work readiness.”
Heather Steel from Elko County School District emphasized leveraging library partnerships to increase learning opportunities: “We are thrilled with these outcomes and will continue to leverage library partnerships to increase work-based learning opportunities.”
This program's success is attributed to strategic cooperation involving resources provided by Nevada Attorney General’s Telkom Settlement funds. Kassie Antonucci from Elko County Library System noted that public libraries are making these resources accessible: “No matter who you are or where you come from, you can get in on this and start plotting out your future.”