ACT Work Ready Community Initiative: Sullivan … Work Ready Community...ACT Work Ready Community...
Transcript of ACT Work Ready Community Initiative: Sullivan … Work Ready Community...ACT Work Ready Community...
Presented by the Self-Sufficiency Vision Council-Employment Team United Way of Greater Kingsport
ACT Work Ready Community Initiative:
Sullivan County
Work Ready CommunityWhat is a Work Ready Community (WRC)?
•A certification that is offered through ACT for counties, regions, and states that provides data-based and quantifiable evidence that the community possesses the following:
�Qualified workforce with measureable skills.
�Strong community alignment among education, industry and economic & community development.
Work Ready Community• Leverages the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) to measure and close the skills gap.
• The Work Ready Certification process measures the quality of the local workforce, and provides business & industry with a pipeline of workers who have a proven skill-set.
• Serves as a marketing tool to attract new businesses to the area and promote expansion of existing businesses.
Work Ready Communities in the U.S.
The states
that appear in
dark red are
participating
in the WRC
program on
the state,
regional or
county level.
Why Participate in WRC?“What’s
in it for
US?”
Certified Work Ready
Communities build a
flourishing workforce by
training and tapping
talent in their own
backyard.
Benefits of WRC to Economic & Community Development• Major selling point to attract new businesses to locate in Sullivan County, ensuring companies that they will have access to a highly-skilled, quality workforce.
• Increase our competitiveness among other counties in TN and in surrounding states.
• Overall increase in number of job seekers that have the NCRC, which is a key determining factor in site selection.
• Economic developers can use an on-demand reporting tool to market the quality of their workforce.
Benefits of WRC to Economic & Community Development
• Tennessee ranked the 2ndMost Competitive
State of 2013, according to Site Selection
Magazine – only 5 points behind #1.
• NCRC data has been added to the criteria that
is considered to determine the economic
development competiveness among states.
• Participating in the WRC initiative will further
Tennessee in becoming the number 1 location
in the southeast for high-quality jobs.
Site Selection
Magazine
Benefits of WRC to Businesses
• Access to a pipeline of workers that have a measurable skills-set.
• Hiring processes are made more efficient through the use of WorkKeys/NCRC – time and costs are saved by identifying skilled applicants more quickly and easily.
• Potential to reduce turnover by hiring the right
person for the right job, resulting in increased
dollars saved for hiring and training.
• Business and industry know exactly what
foundational skills they need for a productive
workforce - and to easily communicate their needs.
(This can be achieved through job profiling).
Benefits of WRC in Education
• WRC initiative links education and workforce to close the skills gap.
• School systems can utilize the NCRC to show that graduates possess work readiness along with basic literacy.
• Upon graduation, students can be equipped with a marketable, workforce credential that proves their critical thinking, problem-solving and trainability in the world of work.
• Some Work Ready Communities have chosen to implement the WorkKeys as a high school and/or college exit exam.
Benefits of WRC to Job Seekers
• By understanding employer expectations, job seekers will take the initiative to obtain the NCRC and be motivated to work towards the achievement of higher scores – raising the bar and developing a higher quality workforce.
• Job seekers can gain confidence by knowing they have the workplace skills to perform a variety of jobs successfully, which will lead to more successful job interviews and on-the-job performance.
• Individuals understand what skills are required by employers – and
how to prepare themselves for success.
Path Forward - What’s Involved�Establish a WRC Leadership Team.
�Complete WRC Application and submit to ACT for consideration.
• Identify possible funding sources for WRC initiative.
• Continue researching best practices among Work Ready Communities.
• Gain acceptance into WRC Academy.
� Work towards the achievement of the WRC goals, also know as “common
criteria” set for the county by ACT.
� Achieve goals for number of individuals with
NCRC.
� Gain employer support and recognition of the
NCRC.
Sources of Information & Recommended Resources
• http://www.act.org/
• http://workreadycommunities.org/
• https://www.workready.info/
• http://workready.ky.gov/
• http://okcommerce.gov/workforce-development/work-ready-communities/
• http://www.cenlaworkready.org/
• http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2014/may/top-states.cfm