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 9,487

Certified Communities0/23

Participating Communities2/23

Jobs Profiled7

Platinum66

Gold2,176

Silver5,438

Bronze1,807

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

4,441,477

ACT WorkKeys NCRC Levels:

Platinum:61,736
Gold:919,051
Silver:2,434,732
Bronze:1,025,958

Participating Counties: 433

Employers Supporting: 22,761

Jobs Profiled: 22,019

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

Stone (MO) December, 2018
Martin (NC) November, 2018
Rankin (MS) November, 2018
Clay (MS) November, 2018
Lowndes (MS) November, 2018
Oktibbeha (MS) November, 2018
Monroe (AL) November, 2018
Webster (MO) October, 2018
Alcorn (MS) October, 2018
Nash (NC) October, 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."

Governor Asa Hutchinson
Arkansas

How Work Ready Communities are Winning the Growth Game

Download the PDF

Videos

What is an ACT Work Ready Community?

ACT Work Readiness System

See more ACT WorkKeys testimonials on YouTube

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

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 163,589

Certified Communities5/67

Participating Communities18/67

Jobs Profiled267

Platinum3,673

Gold29,673

Silver84,040

Bronze46,203

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 47,128

Certified Communities0/31

Participating Communities0/31

Jobs Profiled92

Platinum334

Gold8,889

Silver26,052

Bronze11,853

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 8,091

Certified Communities0/15

Participating Communities0/15

Jobs Profiled0

Platinum82

Gold1,631

Silver4,823

Bronze1,555

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 75,306

Certified Communities3/75

Participating Communities22/75

Jobs Profiled123

Platinum866

Gold17,194

Silver44,151

Bronze13,095

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 13,228

Certified Communities0/58

Participating Communities1/58

Jobs Profiled68

Platinum211

Gold2,444

Silver7,191

Bronze3,382

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 9,544

Certified Communities1/64

Participating Communities3/64

Jobs Profiled31

Platinum243

Gold1,369

Silver5,522

Bronze2,410

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 2,828

Certified Communities0/8

Participating Communities0/8

Jobs Profiled9

Platinum17

Gold390

Silver1,622

Bronze799

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 114,750

Certified Communities0/67

Participating Communities0/67

Jobs Profiled498

Platinum272

Gold21,236

Silver64,582

Bronze28,660

ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate Total 340,484

Certified Communities0/159

Participating Communities0/159

Jobs Profiled1,029

Platinum2,293

Gold62,834

Silver187,203

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