News

Jaydon Hamilton spent his entire childhood playing baseball, but something just clicked for him with football once he started high school at West St. John. He was recently honored at a St. John Parish School Board meeting for earning a platinum score on the ACT-WorkKeys.

ACT State Organizations, an affiliate of Work Ready Communities, is pleased to announce dates for their annual conference of August 3-4, 2021. Sessions will include: Career Readiness and Workplace Skills (K12, Higher Ed, and/or Workforce); Data Utilization (ACT and/or WorkKeys); Work Readiness Assessments; Social & Emotional Learning (K12 Higher Education and/or Workforce); Research and Case Studies.

A multi-year process culminated Thursday as Morgan County's school district superintendents, local elected officials, Chamber of Commerce members and special guest Gov. Mike Parson celebrated the county's new Certified Work Ready Community (WRC) status at Morgan County R-2's Performing Arts Center.

Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman and the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice held a commencement ceremony Thursday to celebrate 52 youth high school graduates for the 2020-2021 academic year and an additional 6 youth for earning a GED, while in DJJ custody or care. For any youth in DJJ custody who had already earned a high school diploma, they are given the opportunity to earn ACT WorkKeys, attend online college courses, participate in work experience when applicable or take vocational and technical classes.

Howard County, Missouri, recently achieved ACT Certified Work Ready Community Status. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson spoke at the event celebrating the certification, Tuesday, at Central Methodist University. Missouri continues to lead the nation with 86 fully Certified Work Ready Communities and more than 4,500 supporting employers.  Over one hundred Missouri counties are actively participating in Certified Work Ready Community initiatives.

Ascension Parish in Louisana installed a highway billboard recently promoting the local workforce in its Work Ready Community. Click the headline to see the image posted on LinkedIn.

Find out how Nevada’s ACT Work Ready Communities are helping identify and create qualified candidates for pre-apprenticeship programs at NV Energy, which provides energy to more than 2 million customers throughout the state. Clark County School District, Workforce Connections, and the College of Southern Nevada use ACT WorkKeys and the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate to create a pipeline of talent ready to participate in a four-year, 8,000-hour apprenticeship program for NV Energy.

The Arkansas Division of Workforce Services has a new Assistant Director. Eddie Thomas previously served as Workforce Development Director at the Southeast Arkansas Planning and Development District in Pine Bluff.  Thomas is set to lead the Employment Assistance Unit, which governs statewide WIOA programming and local workforce board activities. Under Eddie's leadership, all ten southeast counties are now participating in Work Ready Communities.

Wallace State Community College announced the launch of an ambitious new iniative to harness virtual reality to train thousands of working adults for the fastest growing careers in diesel technology. Diesel by Distance will now feature hands-on virtual reality simulations that recreate the working environment of a diesel technician or mechanic.