Frequently Asked Questions

What is an ACT Center?

What services are offered by the ACT Centers?

Where are ACT Centers located?

Are ACT Centers primarily for businesses or for individuals?

What types of training are available at the ACT Centers?

How can businesses benefit from having an ACT Center in their community?

Will courses be available over the Internet?

Can employers have courses delivered through an ACT Center directly to their place of business?

What are professional certification and licensure tests?

What is an ACT Center?

An ACT Center is a facility that delivers state-of-the-art computerized training and testing services to individuals, employers, and professional organizations using computer-based technologies, the Internet, and other cutting-edge processes. It is a comprehensive and dynamic resource for developing a community's workforce and economy.

What services are offered by the ACT Centers?

Planned ACT Center services include:

• Skill-specific training
  
• Continuing education courses in a broad array of disciplines
  
• Workplace skills assessments
  
• Computer-delivered certification and licensure tests for the trades and professions
  
• Distance learning
  

Where are ACT Centers located?

The ACT Centers are located primarily at community colleges because of their proximity to population areas and their commitment to serving individuals and employers through education and training programs. ACT Centers will be located in other settings, including four-year colleges and universities, when host sites are not available at community colleges in targeted geographic areas. ACT's goal is to place ACT Centers in as many locations as possible to provide individuals, employers, and professional associations easy access to their services.

Are ACT Centers primarily for businesses or for individuals?

Both. Businesses of all sizes can use ACT Centers to:

• Access reasonably priced state-of-the-art technologies to facilitate staff training and development
  
• Assess employee job skills
  
• Provide reliable training targeted to specific skills development
  
• Provide distance learning for individuals in other locations with the proper technology
  
• Administer high-stakes tests in a secure environment
  
• Individuals can use the resources available in ACT Centers to:
  
• Get training to improve job skills, qualify for promotions, and make career changes
  
• Keep current in subjects that impact their jobs
  
• Assess their job skills and compare them with their career goals
  
• Document their skills for certification and licensure purposes
  

What types of training are available at the ACT Centers?

The ACT Centers have access to a vast courseware repository with more than 2,500 workforce development titles created by leading training providers. This courseware library makes the possibility of just-in-time, on-demand training a reality. Host institutions can provide individualized training - with flexible scheduling, convenient access, and reasonable rates - to an individual or an entire company. The courseware library focuses on seven popular categories with numerous subcategories in each area:

Basic Presention Skills (Course Number EYM 360)

• Planning Your Presentation
  
• Delivering Your Presentation
• Presenting with Confidence and Impact

Advanced Presentation Skills (Course Number EYM361)

• Basic PowerPoint
  

Customer Service Skills: (Course Number EYC-300)

• Building the Service Foundation: Corporate Culture
• Fundamentals of Exceptional Customer Service
• The Voice of the Customer
• Customers, Conflict and Confrontation
• Advancing Your Service Expertise

How can businesses benefit from having an ACT Center in their community?

The ACT Center will serve as the "corporate university" for many small and medium-size businesses that are interested in keeping their workforce competitive, but that lack the technology or financial resources to develop and administer their own training programs.

Small employers - The vast majority of people work in companies with 100 or fewer employees, and many do not have easy and affordable access to any type of training. An ACT Center can help small employers by offering high-quality training programs using advanced technology, on demand, for small or large groups of employees, at competitive costs.

Medium-size companies - Businesses that initiate their own training programs often find they must buy or lease training packages in excess of their needs, at greater expense, and with greater time commitments than they anticipated. The ACT Centers offer such employers the flexibility to access just the training their employees need, when they need it, and at a reasonable cost.

Will courses be available over the Internet?

Yes, the courseware includes both web-based and computer-based courses. Currently, more than 90 percent of the courses are web-based, enabling users to take the courses from work with appropriate technology or at an ACT Center. Other courseware requires access to a higher speed network than is currently available through the Internet. As the speed and capability of the Internet improve over time, so will access to these more complex, interactive courses.

Can employers have courses delivered through an ACT Center directly to their place of business?

Because most of the courses are web-based, they can be delivered anytime, anywhere. Other courses are server-based, and it is possible for a business to install a server on-site if adequate communication and technology links exist, or can be established, between the local ACT Center and the employers.

What are professional certification and licensure tests?

Each year, ACT assists organizations—in health care, law, actuarial sciences, engineering, automotive technology, social work, and other professional areas—to develop the licensing and certification assessments aimed at ensuring that individuals bring the necessary skills to their work. Although the majority of these exams are in paper-pencil format, the following exams are currently provided in computer-based format through the ACT Center network:

• Association of Social Work Boards Licensing Examinations
  
• Dietitian Registry Examinations
  
• Dietetic Technician Registry Examination
  
• Nuclear Medical Technologist Certification Examination