How to Participate in ACT^® Work Ready Communities

To participate in the ACT® Work Ready Communities Initiative, counties complete an application to engage in Work Ready Communities through the ACT® Work Ready Communities Boot Camp. Counties that are part of a statewide Work Ready Communities initiative should contact their state agency for application information. Counties in North Carolina click here for program and application information.

ACT Work Ready Communities Boot Camps include two sessions within a three month window. The Boot Camps are two-day sessions. We accept applications year-round.

A local WRC leadership team should have representatives from local government, economic development, community/technical colleges, K-12 system, and business/industry. Best practice models have shown a local team comprised of these leaders is most successful in the county becoming a certified ACT® Work Ready Community. A minimum of two team members participate in the ACT® Work Ready Communities Boot Camp; however, more members may attend if helpful. For more information, please download the ACT® Work Ready Communities for Counties overview.

County Application

Participating Counties Receive:

Acceptance to ACT's WRC Boot Camp
Process to build a framework to certify counties
Common fundamental criteria to establish baseline goals for county certification
Communication tools to help message initiative to key stakeholders
Monthly data updates via this website to track progress against goals
A process for building a sustainable workforce development approach

This website reports the ACT® WorkKeys 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 Work Ready Community initiative. This site only represents data stored in the ACT RegiSTAR™ system, a web-based reporting and management tool for ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificates.

State and national ACT WorkKeys NCRC data runs from January 2006 through , while county-level data is starting from January 2012. State job profile data runs from January 2007 through , while national job profile data reaches back to 1993. Again, please note that county-level ACT WorkKeys 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.

ACT’s Ready for Work Podcast

Upcoming WRC Boot Camps

How to Participate in ACT® Work Ready Communities

Participating Counties Receive:

About WRC

How to Participate in ACT^® Work Ready Communities