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Southeast Kansas, Northeast Oklahoma, and Southwest Missouri comprise the MOKAN Partnership and a region with six Work Ready Communities. This best practice example illustrates MOKAN's use of WRC in its economic development marketing efforts. The Autumn 2022 edition of FDI Alliance International magezine includes talent development strategies deployed through MOKAN.

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.

Pike County, Missouri, recently earned Work Ready Community (WRC) status, making Missouri the leader in the number of certified work ready communities in the U.S. In 2012, Missouri was selected to be one of the first four states to participate in the CWRC initiative. Jasper County, Missouri, became the first CWRC in the nation in 2013. Missouri now has more than 100 counties that are actively participating in the CWRC initiative.

The Medical Home Health Aide (Caregiver) boot camp includes four credentials stacked with the ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate. 

Show Notes and Transcript for Episode 37 of Ready for Work

Presentation deck from the 2022 ACT Workforce Summit

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said the No. 1 question he gets in recruiting private industry to Arkansas is how is industry going to get a workforce. The 10 counties in the Southeast Arkansas Economic Development District have become certified as ACT Work Ready Communities, state and district officials announced Wednesday.

"What you have done has allowed us to make the case that we have the workforce that is trained [and] ready to go," the Republican governor told more than 50 officials from southeast Arkansas at the state Capitol. "We know exactly their levels of expertise. They are certified, and we can make the case that southeast Arkansas is ready to do business and ready to receive a new investment of industry."

“This achievement required a collaborative effort of a number of groups and individuals,” said Brad McGinley, chairman of Kick Start Sheridan. “It’s a great promotional tool for our community and clearly demonstrates that Sheridan and Grant County are ready to compete for more, better-paying jobs.”

The American Council on Education recently upgraded its recommendations for college credit equivalents to be applied towards earning the ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate. The new framework took effect August 1st and runs through July of 2025.

Workforce Development Professionals Month was created in 2005 by the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) to raise awareness about the importance of our industry to a growing national economy. Originally celebrated in May, NAWDP moved the designation to September in 2012.  The U.S. Senate passed a resolution naming September 2021 Workforce Development Month.