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The Pittsylvania County School system was recognized for its workforce development achievements over the past year at the ACT Workforce Summit in Charlotte, North Carolina, along with 48 other participating ACT Work Ready Communities. The annual summit in October, which brings together experts in business, education, workforce and economic development, including the ACT Work Ready Communities Awards Ceremony and Recognition. During the ceremony, representatives from participating ACT Work Ready Community counties and parishes received awards for becoming certified or completing a new set of goals to maintain their certification. Accepting the awards are Michael Minter, of Henry County; Angela Rigney, of Pittsylvania County; Virginia Byrd and Meagan Owen, of Halifax County; Michelle McDonald and Roger Scott, of Amelia County; and Lee Ann Mahan, of Patrick, Lunenburg and Mecklenburg counties.

Work Ready Communities (WRC) from ACT is a framework for community-based workforce development to drive economic growth.  Regions improve their workforce and compete on quality for location consultants, investors, and other decision-makers using data powered by the WorkKeys® National Career Readiness Certificate. Check out this article with Episode 18 of the Ready for Work podcast on economic development strategies.

Students at the Fulton City School District are the latest high schoolers in Oswego County to earn a national work readiness credential through Cayuga Community College’s Work Ready Oswego NY initiative.

A total of 17 students from the Fulton district’s G. Ray Bodley High School earned the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC), a portable credential certifying essential skills required for workplace success. Led by the school’s Work-based Learning Coordinator, Angela Ferlito, and housed in their Career Exploration Center, G. Ray Bodley is the first high school in Oswego County to become an ACT WorkKeys Satellite Site under Work Ready Oswego NY. The school offers a comprehensive program of on-site preparation and testing for the ACT WorkKeys NCRC credential.

A group of 10 people from Bourbon County, USD 234, USD235, Fort Scott Community College, the City of Uniontown and local employers attended a Work Ready Community Workshop in August 2019.

Kansas initiated an initiative for high school juniors to take the Work Keys test and earn certification. The certification is to improve hiring and employee retention, help provide employees who have the skills needed and help students attain success in landing a career.

ACT Work Ready Communities regional manager Tony Garife addresses community leaders Thursday at the Carl Parker Center. 

Civic leaders in Port Arthur are planning to help local employers identify skilled job candidates in an efficient manner.

“Our main purpose always as economic developers is to get people in our community hired on locally,” said George Davis, deputy director of the Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation. “When we do our incentives here, locally in Port Arthur, we ask people to hire from Port Arthur. This is a big step, we think, to change the whole narrative about people not being able to get jobs here in Port Arthur that are qualified.”

Davis and the EDC hosted other community, industrial and school leaders at Lamar State College Port Arthur’s Carl Parker Center on Thursday for an information session on how to make the city a certified Work Ready Community through the ACT Work Ready Communities initiative

Doug Mader, WNCC workforce development director, talks with members of the Western Nebraska Economic Development Committee about the nationally recognized Work Ready Community Certificate Project. It provides a general skills level assessment of potential employees for when employers consider hiring new people that meet their particular needs

To accompany ACT's new Career Readiness report, episode 17 of Ready for Work features ACT research scientists Mary LeFebvre and Jeffrey Steedle. The Condition of Career Pathway Readiness in the United States 2019 report is packed with a wealth of good information for counselors, students, or folks looking for a job change. 

Choosing a career that fits your talents and interests can be a daunting task, especially for high school students and adult learners who want to explore career options that may not require a four-year degree. A new ACT report, The Condition of Career Pathway Readiness in the United States, can help. The report features information on the skills individuals need to succeed in various careers and “career clusters”—groupings of occupations that can be used by education and training providers to help students in educational settings. Its aim is to open opportunities for job seekers and help employers identify high potential candidates within different career pathways.