Presented by the Self-Sufficiency Vision Council-Employment Team United Way of Greater Kingsport

ACT Work Ready Community Initiative:

Sullivan County

WORK READYWORK READYWORK READYWORK READY

COMMUNITIESCOMMUNITIESCOMMUNITIESCOMMUNITIES

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.

Work Ready CommunityTestimonial from Certified Work Ready Community - Joplin, MO

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