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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
268
Platinum:
1
Total Counties:
67
Gold:
68
Silver:
159
Jobs Profiled:
175
Bronze:
40
Alaska
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
28,170
Platinum:
118
Total Counties:
31
Gold:
5,947
Silver:
15,394
Jobs Profiled:
43
Bronze:
6,711
Arizona
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
2,615
Platinum:
10
Total Counties:
15
Gold:
518
Silver:
1,577
Jobs Profiled:
9
Bronze:
510
Arkansas
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
394
Platinum:
2
Total Counties:
75
Gold:
101
Silver:
215
Jobs Profiled:
79
Bronze:
76
California
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
5,650
Platinum:
57
Total Counties:
58
Gold:
1,151
Silver:
3,207
Jobs Profiled:
43
Bronze:
1,235
Colorado
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
301
Platinum:
4
Total Counties:
64
Gold:
67
Silver:
195
Jobs Profiled:
15
Bronze:
35
Connecticut
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
1,214
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
8
Gold:
180
Silver:
744
Jobs Profiled:
6
Bronze:
290
Delaware
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
20
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
3
Gold:
5
Silver:
10
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
5
Florida
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
113,568
Platinum:
216
Total Counties:
67
Gold:
20,977
Silver:
64,060
Jobs Profiled:
486
Bronze:
28,315
Georgia
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
309,808
Platinum:
1,909
Total Counties:
159
Gold:
56,406
Silver:
169,759
Jobs Profiled:
820
Bronze:
81,734
Hawaii
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
143
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
5
Gold:
7
Silver:
42
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
94
Idaho
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
47
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
44
Gold:
12
Silver:
25
Jobs Profiled:
31
Bronze:
10
Illinois
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
22,874
Platinum:
68
Total Counties:
102
Gold:
5,151
Silver:
12,890
Jobs Profiled:
38
Bronze:
4,765
Indiana
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
89,951
Platinum:
493
Total Counties:
92
Gold:
19,005
Silver:
52,779
Jobs Profiled:
693
Bronze:
17,674
Iowa
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
22,038
Platinum:
165
Total Counties:
99
Gold:
5,490
Silver:
12,141
Jobs Profiled:
81
Bronze:
4,242
Kansas
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
691
Platinum:
3
Total Counties:
105
Gold:
164
Silver:
412
Jobs Profiled:
57
Bronze:
112
Kentucky
0%

NCRC data for Kentucky is not available at this time. For more information on Kentucky Work Ready Communities please visit:

http://workready.ky.gov

Louisiana
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
36,052
Platinum:
143
Total Counties:
64
Gold:
4,924
Silver:
19,471
Jobs Profiled:
16
Bronze:
11,514
Maine
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
11
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
16
Gold:
5
Silver:
3
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
3
Maryland
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
94
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
24
Gold:
21
Silver:
53
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
20
Massachusetts
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
115
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
14
Gold:
19
Silver:
61
Jobs Profiled:
7
Bronze:
35
Michigan
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
147,126
Platinum:
398
Total Counties:
83
Gold:
30,759
Silver:
78,337
Jobs Profiled:
103
Bronze:
37,632
Minnesota
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
12,781
Platinum:
114
Total Counties:
87
Gold:
3,443
Silver:
6,859
Jobs Profiled:
9
Bronze:
2,365
Mississippi
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
128
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
82
Gold:
17
Silver:
79
Jobs Profiled:
53
Bronze:
32
Missouri
12%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
29,489
Platinum:
125
Total Counties:
115
Gold:
6,445
Silver:
16,819
Jobs Profiled:
190
Bronze:
6,100
Montana
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
813
Platinum:
6
Total Counties:
56
Gold:
163
Silver:
489
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
155
Nebraska
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
642
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
93
Gold:
105
Silver:
362
Jobs Profiled:
71
Bronze:
175
Nevada
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
1,345
Platinum:
9
Total Counties:
17
Gold:
397
Silver:
760
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
179
New Hampshire
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
2,353
Platinum:
5
Total Counties:
10
Gold:
349
Silver:
1,390
Jobs Profiled:
4
Bronze:
609
New Jersey
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
175
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
21
Gold:
24
Silver:
102
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
49
New Mexico
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
14,511
Platinum:
22
Total Counties:
33
Gold:
2,611
Silver:
7,927
Jobs Profiled:
30
Bronze:
3,951
New York
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
995
Platinum:
4
Total Counties:
62
Gold:
147
Silver:
599
Jobs Profiled:
35
Bronze:
245
North Carolina
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
166,791
Platinum:
477
Total Counties:
100
Gold:
29,713
Silver:
96,754
Jobs Profiled:
592
Bronze:
39,847
North Dakota
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
329
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
53
Gold:
56
Silver:
188
Jobs Profiled:
2
Bronze:
85
Ohio
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
96,208
Platinum:
389
Total Counties:
88
Gold:
21,218
Silver:
59,187
Jobs Profiled:
229
Bronze:
15,414
Oklahoma
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
70,282
Platinum:
346
Total Counties:
77
Gold:
13,932
Silver:
40,108
Jobs Profiled:
169
Bronze:
15,896
Oregon
24%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
23,905
Platinum:
310
Total Counties:
36
Gold:
8,234
Silver:
12,737
Jobs Profiled:
66
Bronze:
2,624
Pennsylvania
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
17,116
Platinum:
108
Total Counties:
67
Gold:
4,702
Silver:
9,916
Jobs Profiled:
121
Bronze:
2,390
Rhode Island
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
65
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
5
Gold:
6
Silver:
30
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
29
South Carolina
98%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
185,732
Platinum:
215
Total Counties:
46
Gold:
24,008
Silver:
101,931
Jobs Profiled:
852
Bronze:
59,578
South Dakota
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
4,788
Platinum:
51
Total Counties:
66
Gold:
1,563
Silver:
2,631
Jobs Profiled:
29
Bronze:
543
Tennessee
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
92,751
Platinum:
36
Total Counties:
95
Gold:
21,660
Silver:
51,883
Jobs Profiled:
131
Bronze:
19,172
Texas
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
6,479
Platinum:
21
Total Counties:
254
Gold:
1,266
Silver:
3,867
Jobs Profiled:
134
Bronze:
1,325
Utah
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
1,790
Platinum:
12
Total Counties:
29
Gold:
547
Silver:
1,017
Jobs Profiled:
12
Bronze:
214
Vermont
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
1,823
Platinum:
9
Total Counties:
14
Gold:
460
Silver:
994
Jobs Profiled:
43
Bronze:
360
Virginia
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
842
Platinum:
6
Total Counties:
134
Gold:
238
Silver:
536
Jobs Profiled:
137
Bronze:
62
Washington
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
1,743
Platinum:
16
Total Counties:
39
Gold:
518
Silver:
968
Jobs Profiled:
35
Bronze:
241
West Virginia
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
47,074
Platinum:
93
Total Counties:
55
Gold:
8,274
Silver:
28,995
Jobs Profiled:
79
Bronze:
9,712
Wisconsin
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
7,876
Platinum:
109
Total Counties:
72
Gold:
2,531
Silver:
4,055
Jobs Profiled:
22
Bronze:
1,181
Wyoming
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
5,525
Platinum:
2
Total Counties:
23
Gold:
1,341
Silver:
3,164
Jobs Profiled:
2
Bronze:
1,018
Washington DC
0%
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
10
Platinum:
0
Total Counties:
1
Gold:
1
Silver:
4
Jobs Profiled:
0
Bronze:
5
ACT National Career Readiness Certificate Total
1,705,667
Platinum:
7,086
Total Counties:
3,141
Gold:
333,779
Employers Supporting:
1,758
Silver:
954,327
Jobs Profiled:
19,320
Bronze:
410,475
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
Common Criteria
A Better Measure of Skills Gaps
About the Criteria
Breaking New Ground
Job Profiling Overview
Occupational Profiles Overview
Get the latest news
Receive updates on your state's data.

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 March 31, 2013 , while county-level data is starting from January 2012. State job profile data runs from January 2007 through March 31, 2013 , while national job profile data reaches back to 1993. Again, please note that county-level NCRC data collection began in January 2012 for WorkKeys Internet Version, and in July 2012 for pencil and paper assessments. State and national certificate totals include historical data prior to 2012.


WorkKeys® assessments are used 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 two rounds 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.