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ACT Work Ready Communities regional manager Tony Garife addresses community leaders Thursday at the Carl Parker Center. 

Civic leaders in Port Arthur are planning to help local employers identify skilled job candidates in an efficient manner.

“Our main purpose always as economic developers is to get people in our community hired on locally,” said George Davis, deputy director of the Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation. “When we do our incentives here, locally in Port Arthur, we ask people to hire from Port Arthur. This is a big step, we think, to change the whole narrative about people not being able to get jobs here in Port Arthur that are qualified.”

Davis and the EDC hosted other community, industrial and school leaders at Lamar State College Port Arthur’s Carl Parker Center on Thursday for an information session on how to make the city a certified Work Ready Community through the ACT Work Ready Communities initiative

Doug Mader, WNCC workforce development director, talks with members of the Western Nebraska Economic Development Committee about the nationally recognized Work Ready Community Certificate Project. It provides a general skills level assessment of potential employees for when employers consider hiring new people that meet their particular needs

To accompany ACT's new Career Readiness report, episode 17 of Ready for Work features ACT research scientists Mary LeFebvre and Jeffrey Steedle. The Condition of Career Pathway Readiness in the United States 2019 report is packed with a wealth of good information for counselors, students, or folks looking for a job change. 

Choosing a career that fits your talents and interests can be a daunting task, especially for high school students and adult learners who want to explore career options that may not require a four-year degree. A new ACT report, The Condition of Career Pathway Readiness in the United States, can help. The report features information on the skills individuals need to succeed in various careers and “career clusters”—groupings of occupations that can be used by education and training providers to help students in educational settings. Its aim is to open opportunities for job seekers and help employers identify high potential candidates within different career pathways.

See video on announcement.

CHEROKEE, Iowa (KTIV) -- Cherokee County, Iowa, will become just the second county in the state to be certified as an ACT Work Ready Community.

The county will earn the distinction on January 22 in a ceremony featuring Governor Kim Reynolds.

The ACT Work Ready Communities Initiative helps cities identify skill gaps in the area

Episode 16 of the Ready for Work podcast features the Southwest Tennessee Workforce Readiness Collaborate. The group just landed a first-of-its-kind grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to comprehensive regional interagency approach to help bridge the skills gap and connect Rural Workforce Development, Education with Economic Development.

Leaders from across Jackson County today took a moment to celebrate what they consider to be a milestone in helping people develop workplace skills and connect them to good jobs.

“This says Jackson County is open for business and people matter,” said Mardy Leathers, Missouri’s director of workforce development. He added that Gov. Mike Parson has said his two highest priorities are fixing the state’s roads and bridges and developing a workforce able to meet the ever-changing demands of the modern economy.