University of New Mexico Director of Career Services Jenna Crabb announces a ribbon cutting for the new Skills Test Lab on Friday, July 11 from 10 to 11 a.m. in the UNM Office of Career Services, UAEC room 220. The Skills Test Lab is a partnership between TalentABQ and UNM Career Services.

TalentABQ is a skills to job program from the non-profit, Innovate+Educate. TalentABQ collected detailed assessments of thousands of workers' skills. The skills are then matched against specific jobs and employer needs. 

Mayor Richard J. Berry is encouraging employers to use TalentABQ to identify the right person for jobs within a spectrum of employment possibilities. The City of Albuquerque is already on board with it within their own job hiring process. 

Crabb said, "For an engineering student or graduate who is looking for a job at Intel, for example, they may find that a specific work keys score (skills set score) is required in applied mathematics. They can come to Career Services and use the new Skills Lab to take the test and to find out if they have the skills necessary for the job," she said. Staff at Career Services have been trained to proctor the tests, she said.

“Innovate+Educate is thrilled to implement a formal partnership between TalentABQ and UNM’s Career Services Center through the opening of the campus’s first Skills Lab that will help match students’ skills with job opportunities on campus and across Albuquerque. We are deeply committed to helping the growing number of young adults that need expanded pathways to employment, and we believe that by providing UNM students with a way to demonstrate their career ready skills they will have a greater chance of finding meaningful employment,” said Jamai Blivin, founder and CEO, Innovate+Educate. 
 
Jenna Crabb explains TalentABQ on KASA 2.