Today’s Workforce Demands New Foundational Capabilities

LifeSkills certification program builds critical college and career-readiness skills

TEMPE, Ariz., June 13, 2012 – Certification Partners, owner and developer of the industry-standard CIW training and certification program for Internet technology job-role skills, today announced the creation of the new LifeSkills certification and training program, which will be powered by the Nucleus Learning Quest (NLQ) platform.

"Individuals of all ages are entering and re-entering today’s workforce lacking the essential skills to succeed in their careers," said James Stanger, Ph.D., Certification Partners President and Chief Certification Architect. "Employers have noted that many job candidates lack foundational skills including mathematics, English, soft skills and critical thinking. Job seekers today also lack the knowledge and skills to use 21st-century technology productively in business settings. The LifeSkills training and certification program will remedy this shortcoming and help prepare our workforce to work productively," Stanger added.

LifeSkills is a two-tiered credential program. Individuals who receive LifeSkills training and certification will have proved they have the essential skills necessary to succeed in the workplace. The training can be given to various audiences, including traditional secondary-school students, adults in workforce re-training and education programs, corporate training centers and university-bound students who need to fill the gaps in their skill sets.

LifeSkills Tier A: KeySkills
The KeySkills series of courses is designed to help students quickly learn critical foundational skills and includes the following courses: Essential Mathematics I, Practical English, Creative Platforms and Architectures, Soft Skills, Social Networking and Research, and Personal Finance. Students who pass a low-stakes exam at the end of each course will receive a certificate. After earning all six KeySkills certificates, individuals can take and pass a comprehensive high-stakes exam to earn the KeySkills professional certification.

Individuals who are KeySkills-certified will have demonstrated that they have the basic essential skills to enter and succeed in the workplace, manage their goals, and be productive contributors to an organization.

LifeSkills Tier B: CareerSkills
Once individuals earn the KeySkills certification, they will be prepared to take the CareerSkills series of courses, which includes Practical Mathematics II, Critical Thinking and Analysis, Professional Communication, Applied Technology, Team Building, and Career Literacy. As with KeySkills, students can take and pass a low-stakes exam for each course to earn a certificate. After earning all six CareerSkills certificates, individuals can take and pass a comprehensive high-stakes exam to earn the CareerSkills professional certification.

Individuals who are CareerSkills-certified will have demonstrated that they can excel in the workplace, think proactively and wisely choose their career goals.

LifeSkills Certification
Students who earn both high-stakes KeySkills and CareerSkills certifications will also be awarded the comprehensive LifeSkills professional certification. These individuals will have demonstrated that they have mastered the essentials skills to succeed and excel in their personal and professional endeavors.

Delivery and Industry Support for LifeSkills
LifeSkills courses will be taught via e-learning on the NLQ platform, which empowers instructors to teach entire courses in a virtual instructor-led classroom. "Hands-on, contextual learning is the most effective way for students to properly internalize and apply the skills taught in the LifeSkills certification courses," said George Ward, Chief Information Officer of Nucleus Academic. "The NLQplatform will be a major element that helps students and instructors alike apply concepts in specific contexts. This platform engages them in role-based interview exercises, helps them interpret their experiences through writing in a social media format, and aids them in applying what they have learned." Certification Partners will also offer self-study training to students.

The LifeSkills program will also motivate students by showing them that companies worldwide value people who earn the LifeSkills certification. Certification Partners CEO Barry Fingerhut explained, "We are working with companies and organizations such as Hess Oil, Midas Medici, Consonus, CompTIA and others to actively motivate and hire people who hold certifications associated with LifeSkills."

Availability
Certification Partners has begun development on the first two KeySkills courses, Practical English and Creative Platforms and Architectures, which will be available September 30, 2012. Additional courses will be made available thereafter. "We welcome instructors and programs to preview individual lessons and related materials as they become available," concluded Stanger.

About Certification Partners
Certification Partners delivers industry-leading courseware, certifications and training solutions to higher-education institutions, corporations, associations, government agencies, non-profit organizations and career-minded individuals. The company specializes in information technology (IT) job skills with its premier CIW (Certified Internet Web Professional) brand, delivers essential workforce training with its LifeSkills certification series, and offers a variety of job skills training internationally with CertPRESS. Certification Partners products bring learners of all ages the knowledge and skills essential to success in the modern workplace. Certification Partners is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, with satellite offices in Ireland and Japan, plus a worldwide reseller network.

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Contact:
Scott Accatino
Director of Marketing
Certification Partners LLC
+1 602-794-4139
saccatino@certification-partners.com