State grant money has been awarded to provide free job skills assessments for local high school students to help them land employment in certain fields.

North Carolina’s Eastern Region, an economic development partnership, has approved a $35,000 grant for the Turning Point Workforce Development Board to administer the program.

The board is a nonprofit organization responsible for overseeing local workforce development initiatives in partnership with local elected officials.

The WorkKeys Works Initiative that is being funded is a collaborative effort between the board and community colleges in Nash, Edgecombe and Wilson counties.

Once assessed, the student may obtain a bronze, silver or gold career readiness certificate, depending on the skill level achieved.

A job profile that is part of the assessment identifies skills that are required for a job. The grant money will assist students interested in being assessed for careers in construction, health and advanced manufacturing industries. A small portion of the grant will fund job profiles for companies.

“WorkKeys’ assessment is a test an individual takes to assess their skill level,” said Carisa Rudd, business services coordinator for the Turning Point Workforce Development Board.

Many employers now prefer that applicants take the assessment — which evaluates nine skills, including math and reading — before they are hired, Rudd said.

The Turning Point Workforce Development Board received less than half of the grant money it had applied for, and the smaller amount will limit the number of students who can be helped by the assessments, which should begin in September, Rudd said.

“While the funds award will not assess all individuals, it will certainly help some,” Rudd said.

WorkKeys provides employers, schools, students, and community organizations “with a common language for building a higher-skilled, higher-paid workforce,” a release says.

Using WorkKeys, employers can identify and develop workers for a wide range of skilled professional and technical jobs, the release states.

“Students and workers can document and advance their employability skills,” it states. “Educators can tailor instructional programs to help students acquire the skills employers need.”

The WorkKeys system helps workers identify their strengths and weaknesses, enabling them to make appropriate decisions about jobs, the release states.

Turning Point Workforce Development has a goal of awarding Career Readiness Certificates to 80 percent of those taking the assessments in Nash, Edgecombe and Wilson counties.

The program also provides remediation for those who do not score at recommended skill levels.

Kathy Howard, vice president of North Carolina’s Eastern Region, said the assessment would normally cost someone $30.

“This will allow someone to be tested free of charge,” she said. “This will connect employers with employees.”

A Career Readiness Certificate can help an applicant land a job, she said.

“It proves to an employer what skill levels an individual has so they know if (the applicant) is suitable for the position,” she said. “I think (the assessment) will make it easier to employ the hard-to-employ.”

The WorkKeys project follows the New Careers Enhancement Project, which was also funded by the North Carolina’s Eastern Region from 2008 to 2010. That program focused on community college students, employees and dislocated workers.

North Carolina’s Eastern Region is a partnership established by the General Assembly to promote economic development in Nash, Edgecombe and 11 other counties.