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Affording Communities a Competitive Advantage
What is an ACT® Certified

Work Ready Community?

ACT Certified Work Ready Communities (CWRC) empowers counties and states with data, process and tools that drive economic growth. Participating states are leveraging the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC™) to measure and close the skills gap — and building common frameworks that link, align and match their workforce development efforts.

ACT is leading this national effort and offers a CWRC Academy – a performance-driven program state leadership teams use to initiate, deploy and drive carefully-tailored statewide efforts that grow the number of counties certified as work ready communities.

For more information or to apply, please see the links at the bottom of this page or simply contact us.

More on how to sign up
Alabama
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
135
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
67
Gold:
40
Silver:
77
Jobs Profiled:
173
Bronze:
18
Alaska
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
19,940
Platinum:
83
Total Counties:
29
Gold:
4,307
Silver:
10,667
Jobs Profiled:
25
Bronze:
4,883
Arizona
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
1,691
Platinum:
8
Total Counties:
15
Gold:
329
Silver:
993
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
361
Arkansas
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
53
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
75
Gold:
8
Silver:
32
Jobs Profiled:
79
Bronze:
13
California
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
4,360
Platinum:
52
Total Counties:
58
Gold:
948
Silver:
2,473
Jobs Profiled:
33
Bronze:
887
Colorado
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
120
Platinum:
1
Total Counties:
64
Gold:
18
Silver:
77
Jobs Profiled:
15
Bronze:
24
Connecticut
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
716
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
8
Gold:
100
Silver:
425
Jobs Profiled:
2
Bronze:
191
Delaware
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
11
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
3
Gold:
4
Silver:
6
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
1
Florida
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
111,102
Platinum:
211
Total Counties:
67
Gold:
20,549
Silver:
62,572
Jobs Profiled:
478
Bronze:
27,770
Georgia
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
299,333
Platinum:
1,892
Total Counties:
159
Gold:
54,393
Silver:
163,729
Jobs Profiled:
773
Bronze:
79,319
Hawaii
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
67
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
5
Gold:
2
Silver:
18
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
47
Idaho
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
17
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
44
Gold:
4
Silver:
10
Jobs Profiled:
14
Bronze:
3
Illinois
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
16,589
Platinum:
41
Total Counties:
102
Gold:
3,633
Silver:
9,336
Jobs Profiled:
35
Bronze:
3,579
Indiana
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
81,899
Platinum:
481
Total Counties:
92
Gold:
17,278
Silver:
47,915
Jobs Profiled:
665
Bronze:
16,225
Iowa
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
15,079
Platinum:
129
Total Counties:
99
Gold:
3,831
Silver:
8,112
Jobs Profiled:
55
Bronze:
3,007
Kansas
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
79
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
105
Gold:
26
Silver:
42
Jobs Profiled:
46
Bronze:
11
Kentucky
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
48,938
Platinum:
354
Total Counties:
120
Gold:
10,337
Silver:
28,979
Jobs Profiled:
97
Bronze:
9,268
Louisiana
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
33,022
Platinum:
137
Total Counties:
64
Gold:
4,445
Silver:
17,678
Jobs Profiled:
7
Bronze:
10,762
Maine
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
5
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
16
Gold:
1
Silver:
1
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
3
Maryland
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
28
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
24
Gold:
4
Silver:
14
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
10
Massachusetts
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
32
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
14
Gold:
8
Silver:
16
Jobs Profiled:
7
Bronze:
8
Michigan
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
134,415
Platinum:
365
Total Counties:
83
Gold:
28,752
Silver:
71,617
Jobs Profiled:
98
Bronze:
33,681
Minnesota
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
7,870
Platinum:
80
Total Counties:
87
Gold:
2,016
Silver:
4,108
Jobs Profiled:
3
Bronze:
1,666
Mississippi
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
38
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
82
Gold:
3
Silver:
22
Jobs Profiled:
9
Bronze:
13
Missouri
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
11,467
Platinum:
66
Total Counties:
115
Gold:
2,445
Silver:
6,713
Jobs Profiled:
182
Bronze:
2,243
Montana
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
494
Platinum:
5
Total Counties:
56
Gold:
111
Silver:
300
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
78
Nebraska
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
537
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
93
Gold:
90
Silver:
299
Jobs Profiled:
18
Bronze:
148
Nevada
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
1,071
Platinum:
9
Total Counties:
17
Gold:
344
Silver:
598
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
120
New Hampshire
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
824
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
10
Gold:
97
Silver:
478
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
249
New Jersey
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
134
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
21
Gold:
18
Silver:
82
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
34
New Mexico
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
12,062
Platinum:
16
Total Counties:
33
Gold:
2,220
Silver:
6,557
Jobs Profiled:
26
Bronze:
3,269
New York
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
784
Platinum:
3
Total Counties:
62
Gold:
112
Silver:
473
Jobs Profiled:
15
Bronze:
196
North Carolina
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
116,603
Platinum:
341
Total Counties:
100
Gold:
20,126
Silver:
67,894
Jobs Profiled:
572
Bronze:
28,242
North Dakota
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
54
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
53
Gold:
7
Silver:
31
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
16
Ohio
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
84,815
Platinum:
367
Total Counties:
88
Gold:
18,831
Silver:
52,132
Jobs Profiled:
215
Bronze:
13,485
Oklahoma
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
39
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
77
Gold:
9
Silver:
22
Jobs Profiled:
160
Bronze:
8
Oregon
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
16,495
Platinum:
245
Total Counties:
36
Gold:
5,806
Silver:
8,601
Jobs Profiled:
62
Bronze:
1,843
Pennsylvania
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
13,434
Platinum:
91
Total Counties:
67
Gold:
3,751
Silver:
7,664
Jobs Profiled:
107
Bronze:
1,928
Rhode Island
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
16
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
5
Gold:
0
Silver:
7
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
9
South Carolina
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
165,160
Platinum:
188
Total Counties:
46
Gold:
21,105
Silver:
90,081
Jobs Profiled:
825
Bronze:
53,786
South Dakota
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
2,488
Platinum:
39
Total Counties:
66
Gold:
975
Silver:
1,255
Jobs Profiled:
16
Bronze:
219
Tennessee
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
85,591
Platinum:
34
Total Counties:
95
Gold:
20,217
Silver:
47,489
Jobs Profiled:
122
Bronze:
17,851
Texas
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
3,169
Platinum:
12
Total Counties:
254
Gold:
587
Silver:
1,895
Jobs Profiled:
90
Bronze:
675
Utah
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
923
Platinum:
5
Total Counties:
29
Gold:
286
Silver:
529
Jobs Profiled:
11
Bronze:
103
Vermont
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
1,380
Platinum:
8
Total Counties:
14
Gold:
388
Silver:
726
Jobs Profiled:
35
Bronze:
258
Virginia
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
505
Platinum:
4
Total Counties:
134
Gold:
137
Silver:
330
Jobs Profiled:
134
Bronze:
34
Washington
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
637
Platinum:
11
Total Counties:
39
Gold:
161
Silver:
367
Jobs Profiled:
27
Bronze:
98
West Virginia
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
32
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
55
Gold:
8
Silver:
21
Jobs Profiled:
74
Bronze:
3
Wisconsin
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
5,625
Platinum:
96
Total Counties:
72
Gold:
1,896
Silver:
2,826
Jobs Profiled:
13
Bronze:
807
Wyoming
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
4,309
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
23
Gold:
1,038
Silver:
2,410
Jobs Profiled:
2
Bronze:
861
Washington DC
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
8
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
1
Gold:
1
Silver:
3
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
4
American Samoa
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
0
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
5
Gold:
0
Silver:
0
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
0
Guam
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
0
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
1
Gold:
0
Silver:
0
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
0
Puerto Rico
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
0
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
78
Gold:
0
Silver:
0
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
0
Northern Mariana Islands
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
0
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
4
Gold:
0
Silver:
0
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
0
Outlying Islands
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
0
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
1
Gold:
0
Silver:
0
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
0
Virgin Islands
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
0
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
3
Gold:
0
Silver:
0
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
0
Other Foreign
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
0
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
0
Gold:
0
Silver:
0
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
0
Not Available
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
0
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
0
Gold:
0
Silver:
0
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
0
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
1,361,284
Platinum:
5,992
Total Counties:
3,141
Gold:
265,838
Silver:
754,110
Jobs Profiled:
18,777
Bronze:
335,344
Why it works
Resources
By participating in ACT's Certified Work Ready Communities initiative, states are helping:

  • Business and industry know exactly what foundational skills they need for a productive workforce - and to easily communicate their needs
  • Individuals understand what skills are required by employers - and how to prepare themselves for success
  • Policy makers consistently measure the skills gap in a timely manner at the national, state and local levels
  • Educators close the skills gap, via tools integrated into career pathways with stackable industry-recognized credentials
  • Economic developers use an on-demand reporting tool to market the quality of their workforce
About the CWRC Initiative
ACT Workforce Development
About the ACT CWRC Academy
Work Readiness System Components
Criteria for Certification
A Better Measure of Skills Gaps
How to Get Engaged
Breaking New Ground
Get the latest news
Receive updates on your state's data.

What's going on here? The maps look pretty empty because ACT has just launched a brand-new national Certified Work Ready Communities initiative! To date four states - Kentucky, Missouri, Oregon and South Carolina - are participating. Currently, there are no participating counties - and only counties in participating states are eligible to engage in the process to become an ACT Certified Work Ready Community.


This website reports the ACT® National Career Readiness Certificates earned at the county and state level and the progress being made by those participating states and counties in the ACT Certified Work Ready Community initiative. This site only represents data stored in the ACT RegiSTAR™ system, a web-based reporting and management tool for National Career Readiness Certificates.


State and national NCRC data runs from January 2006 through April 30, 2012, while county-level data is starting from January 2012. State job profile data runs from January 2007 through April 30, 2012, while national job profile data reaches back to 1993. Beginning in early 2012, ACT will begin reporting the first NCRC data at the county level.


WorkKeys® assessments are in use across the nation, and many states have built their own Career Readiness Certificates based upon WorkKeys assessment results. You will find an asterisk denoting those states. This website will continue to evolve as the first round of participating states give us feedback on what they would like to see -- and based on your feedback, as well.


Please contact us if you have comments, questions or would like to receive more information.