Next ACT Work Ready Communities Boot Camp

Begins April 17-18 with a follow up session July 17-18, 2019

Both sessions in Omaha, Nebraska

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 9,497

Certified Communities0/23

Participating Communities2/23

Jobs Profiled7

Platinum68

Gold2,178

Silver5,443

Bronze1,808

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

View Heat Map

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

4,469,054

ACT WorkKeys NCRC Levels:

Platinum:64,140
Gold:924,170
Silver:2,445,229
Bronze:1,035,515

Participating Counties: 440

Employers Supporting: 23,027

Jobs Profiled: 21,993

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
Hire the Best Applicants
Validate a Job Seeker's WorkKeys NCRC
Workforce Toolkit

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

Monroe (MO) January, 2019
Beauregard Parish (LA) January, 2019
Lincoln (AR) January, 2019
Madison (MS) January, 2019
Sabine Parish (LA) December, 2018
Washington (NC) December, 2018
Watauga (NC) December, 2018
Hawkins (TN) December, 2018
Sullivan (TN) December, 2018
Stone (MO) December, 2018

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."

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

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 164,360

Certified Communities5/67

Participating Communities18/67

Jobs Profiled268

Platinum3,757

Gold29,833

Silver84,329

Bronze46,441

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 47,199

Certified Communities0/31

Participating Communities0/31

Jobs Profiled44

Platinum355

Gold8,912

Silver26,072

Bronze11,860

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 8,138

Certified Communities0/15

Participating Communities0/15

Jobs Profiled0

Platinum90

Gold1,648

Silver4,841

Bronze1,559

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 75,977

Certified Communities4/75

Participating Communities22/75

Jobs Profiled123

Platinum932

Gold17,357

Silver44,389

Bronze13,299

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 13,323

Certified Communities0/58

Participating Communities1/58

Jobs Profiled68

Platinum231

Gold2,459

Silver7,229

Bronze3,404

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 9,816

Certified Communities1/64

Participating Communities3/64

Jobs Profiled31

Platinum263

Gold1,429

Silver5,631

Bronze2,493

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 2,879

Certified Communities0/8

Participating Communities0/8

Jobs Profiled9

Platinum25

Gold405

Silver1,639

Bronze810

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 420

Certified Communities0/3

Participating Communities0/3

Jobs Profiled1

Platinum3

Gold113

Silver249

Bronze55

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 114,766

Certified Communities0/67

Participating Communities0/67

Jobs Profiled498

Platinum278

Gold21,240

Silver64,587

Bronze28,661

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 341,066

Certified Communities0/159

Participating Communities0/159

Jobs Profiled1,029

Platinum2,352

Gold62,929

Silver187,410

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