News

Unprecedented skill shortages in labor markets across the U.S. often intersect with a desire for Justice System reform that provides pathways for Returning Citizens to thrive. When optimized in a regional workforce ecosystem, Returning Citizens are a high-performing group of working learners to boost a regional talent pipeline. In a two-part series, ACT's Ready for Work podcast examines a Five P's framework for re-entry success in Episode 32.  Life-Changing Asset and Skill-Based Solutions iAlternative Sentencing for Episode 31 showcases the success drug court approach in Morgan County, AL.

WRC Synergies with Talent Pipeline Management from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, workforce readiness was the signature challenge facing economic developers across the U.S. If anything, the fast but uneven post-pandemic recovery will bring even greater challenges on the talent availability front.  This new reality illustrates the value of the ACT Work-Ready Communities initiative and the underlying data that Work-Ready Communities provide to prospective employers.  By furnishing business decision-makers with an apples-to-apples comparison across different labor markets that relies on fundamental, measurable workplace skills, ACT Work-Ready Communities is something every local economic development organization should look at adopting in their area.

Christopher Chung, CEO
Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina

In February, hundreds of ACT team members across the organization learned from BMe Community CEO Trabian Shorters about Asset-Framing. This cognitive frame holds that by defining people by their aspirations rather than their challenges, we can prime the public to fix the systemic problems that block the achievement of those aspirations. Here, Shorters expands on his presentation and Q&A session with additional thoughts on how organizations and individuals alike can put this equity-focused framing into practice.

Congratulations to the local Work Ready Communities in Bourbon County, Kansas, recipient of the Projects with a Purpose award, and the St. Louis, Missouri region, for the award on Community Innovation.

State officials, local officials, and business and industry partners gathered Feb. 22 at South East Arkansas Community-Based Education Center (SEACBEC) to celebrate the career and technical educational accomplishments of Warren High School and the district during the CTE event

As featured in Episode 31 of ACT's Ready for Work podcast.

As featured in Episode 31 of ACT's Ready for Work podcast

As featured in Episode 30 of the Ready for Work podcast

"Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match…" Maybe it's because I just saw Fiddler on the Roof or because Valentine's Day has just passed, but I wanted to take a moment to bring together two very special audiences – entrepreneurs and workforce development – to make the case for why this marriage should be a no-brainer and provide ideas for how to make a move.