News

WLBT-TV showcased plans from the Jackson Public Schools for a $4.4 million upgrades to its career development center, which is one of the largest programs of its kind in Mississippi. The 48-year-old center now boasts state-of-the-art classrooms and industry-standard labs across 23 career pathways and the ACT WorkKeys NCRC.

Texarkana College and the Texarkana USA Chamber have added ACT WorkKeys Essential Skills to the LEAD 1100 course. This equips Workforce students with key job skills and prepares them to earn the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC).

As reported by The Enterprise-Reflector newspaper, Martin County district leaders celebrated success and the turning point with WorkKeys and ACT gains not experienced in a half-decade.

Eastern Iowa is uniting to strengthen its workforce through skills-based solutions. On Sept. 24-25, leaders, employers, and educators will gather in Iowa City for the ACT Work Ready Communities Boot Camp - hands-on training to boost work readiness. Greater Iowa City, Inc. is proud to support this effort.

A new resource for students, parents, and educators to discover career-readiness programs as well as to engage local employers is now available to help youth connect to rewarding careers in the GLOW region. The Genesee County Economic Development Center has unveiled the Genesee County Career Roadmap. This GIS tool tracks careers across Western NY.

Pikes Peak BOCES offers testing for paraprofessionals through the ACT Workkeys. The tests are given to individuals at the BOCES office in Colorado Springs.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced over $51M in FAST NY grants to boost five industrial sites. In the Oswego WRC, $8.1M is helping improve a site just 8 miles from Micron, ideal for the semiconductor supply chain growth. In the Monroe WRC, a team at Webster will invest $9.8M toward transforming a brownfield site into productive use.

Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College (NLTCC) has been named a Top Vocational School for 2025 by USA TODAY and Statista. With campuses in Webster, DeSoto, and Caddo parishes, NLTCC earned recognition for strong student outcomes of high graduation rates, competitive salaries, and solid ROI.

MDHEWD earned national recognition at the ACT Summit in Nashville, receiving the ACT Workforce Policy Exemplar Award for helping Missourians advance careers through skills assessments. Missouri leads the nation with 99 Certified Work Ready Communities, with 112 of 115 counties participating.

SHRM's new Skills First Future gateway offers best practices, tips, and resources for effective employer engagement. Workforce ecosystem leaders can gain insights to employer solutions for opportunities in skills first and solutions to implement LERs, Learning and Employment Records. Listen to episode 61 of Ready for Work to learn more.