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Washington County, Mississippi
The Washington County Economic Alliance (WCEA) is pleased to announce that Washington County has met all the criteria to reach the third maintenance tier to retain their ACT Work Ready Community certification. Washington County is the first participating county in the United States to achieve third tier certification.
“ACT congratulates Washington County, Mississippi, first in the nation to achieve the third tier Work Ready Communities certification,” Fred McConnel, Director of Work Ready Communities at ACT. “The leadership team in Washington County is a model for the nation to leverage the Work Ready Communities framework in the alignment of training and capture of growth opportunities for new and existing employers.”
The Ready for Work podcast showcases the best and brightest in workforce development and career
education. Powered by ACT’s mission of education and workplace success, the podcast equips stakeholders of the workforce ecosystem with trends, innovation, and action steps to help maximize the workforce.
Launched in April 2019, the podcast’s interview format features promising practices in the field and subject matter experts. Bi-monthly episodes run 14-20 minutes. Future content includes coverage of key conferences and events, such as the ACT Workforce Summit.
Episode 1 features the Role of Economic Development in the Local Workforce Ecosystem and an interview with Will Coppage of the Washington County, MS Economic Alliance.
More and more industries and college technical training programs require employees to take the national WorkKeys test, which assesses a person’s readiness for employment in different types of jobs. In response to this demand, more and more communities are moving to become “work ready” communities
Video describes steps to sign up to take ACT WorkKeys/NCRC in Washington County, MS. Part of Work Ready Communities.
Washington County community organizations are helping expand the ACT Work Ready Communities program to help more residents and businesses benefit.
The Work Ready program, which was launched by Washington County Economic Alliance in January 2016, is designed to increase the county’s attractiveness to industries, increase the number of local jobs and streamline hiring processes by testing and certifying residents’ job skills.
Up until now, WCEA was the only community organization in Washington County working to test residents and create job profiles. However, that changed Monday with the start of the school year.
Tarrinasha Jones, director of Greenville Technology Center, a part of the Greenville Public School District, said high school students from area schools will have the opportunity to participate in a two-year Manufacturing Basic Skills course that ties into the Work Ready program.
