ACT WRC Boot Camp
- Apply now for the Spring 2020
  Work Ready Communities Boot Camp!
ACT’s Ready for Work Podcast
- The Voice of the Workforce Ecosystem
- Premieres April 2019
- Learn economic development
  strategies and more
ACT WRC Alumni Calls
- Nov 21, 2019
- May 28, 2020
- More calls scheduled in 2020
- Details will be emailed to POCs
Job Profiling training dates:
- Training Begins: March 16, 2020
- Date of Workshop: April 28-May 1, 2020
- Workshop Location: Iowa City, Iowa
- Deadline to register: February 28, 2020

ACT WRC Boot Camp

Apply now for the Spring 2020
Work Ready Communities Boot Camp!

Apply Now

ACT’s Ready for Work Podcast

The Voice of the Workforce Ecosystem
Premieres April 2019
Learn economic development strategies and more

Subscribe Now

ACT WRC Alumni Calls

May 30 at 2pm ET
August 29 at 2pm ET
Details will be emailed to POCs

ACT 2019 Workforce Summit

Save the Date!
October 28-30, Charlotte, North Carolina
Now accepting proposals

Submit a proposal

States with State- or County-Led
ACT® Work Ready Communities

Hover over a state to learn more about ACT® WorkKeys® NCRC® activity there.

States with State or County Led ACT Work Ready Communities

About the data on this site

Wyoming

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 9,886

Certified Communities0/23

Participating Communities2/23

Jobs Profiled7

Platinum130

Gold2,256

Silver5,596

Bronze1,904

ACT WorkKeys NCRC EARNED STATE RANKINGS

This map shows which states have the highest number of people per capita who have earned the ACT WorkKeys NCRC.
States with the greatest percentage of earners are in dark red.

ACT WorkKeys NCRC Earned State Rankings

Top
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50

Create Custom Region

What is an ACT^® Work Ready Community?

ACT Work Ready Communities (WRC) empowers states, regions and counties with data, processes and tools that drive economic growth. Participants are leveraging the ACT^® WorkKeys^® National Career Readiness Certificate^® (NCRC^®) to measure and close the skills gap — and building common frameworks that link, align and match their workforce development efforts.

ACT^® WorkKeys^® National Career Readiness Certificate^® Total

4,865,834

ACT WorkKeys NCRC Levels:

Platinum:119,298
Gold:1,009,949
Silver:2,583,897
Bronze:1,152,690

Participating Counties: 492

Employers Supporting: 26,107

Jobs Profiled: 22,175

Work Ready Communities Boot Camp

ACT offers a performance-driven program WRC leadership teams use to initiate, deploy and drive carefully-tailored efforts that grow the number of counties certified as work ready communities.

Learn More

Counties

Counties may engage in the ACT Work Ready Communities program. Any municipality may be accepted into the Boot Camp to build and launch their Work Ready Communities initiative.

Get the latest news

Employers

Employers can be the fuel to drive successful state and county Work Ready Communities initiatives simply by recognizing the ACT® WorkKeys® National Career Readiness Certificate®. And in doing so, they will have a more qualified workforce ready to fill their jobs. Learn more about why employers should engage.

Certify Your Workforce
Validate a Job Seeker's WorkKeys NCRC
Workforce Toolkit
Employer Toolkit/Job Profiling

Employers recognize the ACT^® WorkKeys^® NCRC^®

View Employer Directory

Verify A Certificate

Employers, to check whether a job seeker's National Career Readiness Certificate^® is valid, enter the certificate number here.

Enter Certificate ID

Recently Certified Counties

Lee (AR) January, 2020
Greene (AL) January, 2020
Cherokee (IA) January, 2020
Menard (TX) December, 2019
Jackson (MO) December, 2019
Tyrrell (NC) December, 2019
Hancock (TN) December, 2019
Charlotte (VA) December, 2019
New Madrid (MO) December, 2019
Wayne (MO) December, 2019

View Full List

Economic Development

By achieving certified ACT's Work Ready Communities status, counties are demonstrating they have a robust workforce development effort aligned to their economic development needs resulting in:

Business and Industry

know exactly what foundational skills they need for a productive workforce - and to easily communicate their needs

Individuals

understand what skills are required by employers - and how to prepare themselves for success

Policy makers

consistently measure the skills gap in a timely manner at the national, state and local levels

Educators

close the skills gap, via tools integrated into career pathways with stackable industry-recognized credentials

Economic Developers

developers use an on-demand reporting tool to market the quality of their workforce

What Others Are Saying

"Having been in site selection for many years, it has always been difficult to ensure my clients that there is available, stable and reliable workforce in a community. However, in the last few years when I see that a county is ACT Work Ready I know that they are following the steps in planning for the current and future workforce. Therefore, our tendency at FCG is to look strongly at ACT Work Ready Communities for new site locations. I would encourage all communities to seek that status."

Mr. Deane C. Foote, CEcD
President & CEO
Foote Consulting Group, LLC

"As a national site selector, one of the few factors that are critical to almost every company and project is workforce. It is imperative for communities to focus on knowing and improving their existing workforce as well as retaining and attracting high quality talent. ACT Work Ready Communities are setting themselves apart by intentionally developing their local workforce in support of their existing companies while positioning themselves to attract new companies."

Robby Burgan
Manager, Location Strategies
Evergreen Advisors

"ACT Work Ready is truly the best workforce development marketing tool I have seen."

Chad Chancellor
Co-Founder/CEO
The Next Move Group
New Orleans, Louisiana

"Outstanding program that helps business recruit and retain qualified workers. Congrats on the milestone. As a corrorlary would recommend that all counties become work ready certified.

Dennis Donovan
Director Global Site Selection
Wadley, Donovan, Gutshaw Consulting

"Jonesboro and Craighead County are a great example of what’s right with Arkansas. Becoming an ACT Work Ready Community will make Jonesboro and Craighead County even stronger."

Governor Asa Hutchinson
Arkansas

"One of the main reasons that they decided to remain in Pottawatomie County was because of the strong work force and the county’s commitment to workforce readiness through ACT WorkReady program. Pottawatomie County is one of only three counties in the state that is Certified Work Ready."

Robert Weimann
Co-Owner, Sarto Countertops

"Being A Work Ready Community Champion allows the ease of hiring the best people, and trust what you hired them to do. It allows me to help match the employees to jobs based on verified skill levels. Finding the candidate who possesses the proper trade skill through the ACT Work Ready Program reduces the overall recruiting, onboarding and training cost. It’s a win-win for all involved."

Tracey Faulkner
Director of Human Resources, R-Tech Tool & Machine, Inc.

"Being a site selector I often find it difficult to compare labor force data when there is little information on how the potential workforce will perform on assessments given by companies. Not only does WorkKeys® function as a preferred assessment tool in industry today, but the ACT® Work Ready Communities website allows me to compare communities so I can recommend to my clients the counties with the best scores and the percentage of the population that are taking the assessment."

Teresa Nortillo, CEcD
Nortillo Consulting Group

How Work Ready Communities are Winning the Growth Game

Download the PDF

Site Selectors and Business are Taking Notice

Site Selection Magazine 2020 Regional Workforce Development Rankings include ACT NCRCs as one of the top 5 components! Learn More

How does your state stack up? Site Selection Magazine January 2020 Annual State of the States issue reaches global corporate location decision-makers.

ACT WRC Boot Camp

ACT’s Ready for Work Podcast

ACT WRC Alumni Calls

Job Profiling training dates:

ACT WRC Boot Camp

ACT’s Ready for Work Podcast

ACT WRC Alumni Calls

ACT 2019 Workforce Summit

States with State- or County-LedACT® Work Ready Communities

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 250,353

Certified Communities16/67

Participating Communities18/67

Jobs Profiled304

Platinum15,013

Gold46,409

Silver114,782

Bronze74,149

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 47,763

Certified Communities0/31

Participating Communities0/31

Jobs Profiled46

Platinum509

Gold9,087

Silver26,219

Bronze11,948

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 8,621

Certified Communities0/15

Participating Communities0/15

Jobs Profiled0

Platinum129

Gold1,764

Silver5,048

Bronze1,680

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 81,488

Certified Communities13/75

Participating Communities26/75

Jobs Profiled123

Platinum1,636

Gold18,622

Silver46,385

Bronze14,845

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 15,615

Certified Communities0/58

Participating Communities1/58

Jobs Profiled68

Platinum554

Gold2,922

Silver8,076

Bronze4,063

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 13,667

Certified Communities1/64

Participating Communities3/64

Jobs Profiled35

Platinum554

Gold2,127

Silver7,182

Bronze3,804

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 3,124

Certified Communities0/8

Participating Communities0/8

Jobs Profiled9

Platinum58

Gold451

Silver1,721

Bronze894

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 422

Certified Communities0/3

Participating Communities0/3

Jobs Profiled1

Platinum3

Gold113

Silver250

Bronze56

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 115,156

Certified Communities0/67

Participating Communities0/67

Jobs Profiled500

Platinum336

Gold21,316

Silver64,724

States with State- or County-Led
ACT® Work Ready Communities