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One part humor, one part inspiration! Episode 28 kicks off our third season of Ready for Work with a fun perspective on the role of humor in workforce development. Our guest is comedian Roy Wood Junior, a correspondant on Comedy Central's hit, The Daily Show, and host of Roy's Job Fair, a podcast that explores the human condition through the prism of employment. Roy helps us share the very serious topic of unemployment with an injection of comedy so the workforce ecosystem can be as relatable as possible to working learners.

Discover strategies for revitalizing apprenticeships and meeting expectations for completion rates and alignment to in-demand skills through a new toolkit from ACT Workforce Solutions and Work Ready Communities. 

The toolkit is organized into nine elements that help boost quality and outcomes of apprenticeship and other forms of work-based learning.  The tools are user-friendly for both new programs, or enhancement of existing programs.  The toolkit is full of best practices and use cases for revitalizing apprenticeships and meeting expectations for completion rates and alignment to in-demand skills. Request your complimentary access to the toolkit online.

Site Selection magazine's Missouri Development Guide supplament for 2021 showcases the Certified Sites program as an ideal means to fast-tract investment and job creation. The article includes promotion of Missouri Work Ready Communities as an ideal pairing of resources for growth.

National non-profit Credential Engine will help map the credential landscape in Kansas City and move the region toward credential transparency in support of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s vision for Real World Learning — a Kansas City community initiative to help prepare the region, students, and employers for the future.

Planning for the next step on your journey can be overwhelming. You might not know where to go or how to start. And that’s okay. It’s important to remember that while everyone’s journey to college and career follows a unique path, there are things you can do to make the best decisions about your future. Join us for this free virtual event to learn from experts how to prepare for college and career—from finding scholarships to transitioning to life on campus, we’re here to help guide you along the way.

The National Association of Workforce Development Professionals recently showcase Guilford County, North Carolina as the lead for the October NAWDP Advantage publication. Guilford deployed a mobile career center in partnership with the Eastern Triad Workforce Initiative.

The Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development hosted its annual event at Jeter Mountain Farm Sept. 30 to celebrate the past two years of economic development in the county. Since the last celebration in 2019, board Chair Nathan Kennedy shared all that the partnership had accomplished, including their Work Ready Communities designation.

Guam Community College (GCC) is now accepting Platinum and Gold level ACT WorkKeys® National Career Readiness Certificates (NCRC) as evidence of college-level readiness in Math and English. Students who achieve Platinum and Gold can enroll in GCC’s MA110A – Finite Mathematics and EN110 Freshman Composition without having to take the placement exam. GCC joins a growing list of colleges and universities throughout the U.S. that accept WorkKeys® NCRC to fulfill college entrance requirements and can provide an advantage when registering for college-level courses. 

Multiple local Chambers of Commerce held a joint ribbon cutting on Friday to celebrate the Lake Area Satellite Missouri Job Center's new location at the State Fair Community College Lake Campus. Two testimonials were shared during the event, both identifying the value of a community becoming “Certified Work Ready” from different perspectives. First attendees heard from Morgan County R-1 Superintendent Matt Unger. Unger shared the value of administering the WorkKeys test from a student’s perspective. He continued sharing how it provides non-college bound graduates and additional credential, a National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC), to graduate with alongside their diploma. Certified Graduates can then utilize their NCRC when applying for employment. The certificate will identify and validate to the employer what skill set that applicant is at.  

Wrapping up Workforce Development Month for September 2021, ACT recognizes the collective impact of the public workforce system. Workforce development touches one in every 12 with information and services. Integrated workforce systems help more than 5 million working learners with the WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate to meet their individual goals.