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2022 marks the 8th annual National Apprenticeship Week and celebrations November 14th through the 20th to showcase the success and value of apprenticeship to rebuild the economy, advance equity, and support under-served communities. On Episode 36 of Ready for Work, we take you to the recent ACT Workforce Summit in New Orleans for a keynote presentation featuring the Woodworks program at Roy O’Martin, a forestry-products leader in Louisiana and Texas. HR pro and Work Ready Communities ambassador, Donna Bailey presented a luncheon keynote on the three components that made Woodworks a success and some of the voices of excellence along the way.  Episode 36 concludes with a quick introduction to the Apprenticeship Ambassador initiative from the U.S. Department of Labor.

It takes every kind of job needed to properly run a manufacturing facility like RoyOMartin. The 99-year-old family-owned company headquartered in Alexandria is one of the top manufacturers in the South of wood products such as oriented strand board (OSB), plywood, solid wood timbers and boards. RoyOMartin is a partner in education at every level from the WoodWorks program they offer at 20 high schools in Central Louisiana and East Texas to internal training programs like their "Pay for Knowledge and Skills" program for production employees. They are also involved in the elementary and middle school levels as well.

Cleco announced applications are being accepted for its Power of a Promise Scholarship which  includes full tuition, books, a stipend for incidentals and a paid internship at the company's  Brame Energy Center near Boyce, La. A combination of skill attributes includes WorkKeys as a qualification option.

The largest region of Work Ready Communities is the 10-parishes of Central Louisiana. Check out their short video to learn more. 

For Central Louisiana's economy to grow, it needs to show it has a work force that's capable and ready to do the job.

That's why local economic developers are excited about the regional recent designation as a "work-ready community."