News

Building our readers’ knowledge and capabilities is the purpose of State of the States 2021, Site Selection’s annual compendium of data that matter to global corporate location decision-makers. This edition includes the sixth annual installment of Rankings That Matter, where the six-point scoreboard features the WorkKeys NCRC as the preferred measure for workforce quality.  Other criteria include rankings on tax climate, higher education R&D, workers compensation, industrial electric power costs, and state fiscal health.

State and local officials joined Carvana for a ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning to mark the grand opening of the company’s new vehicle inspection and distribution center in West Memphis. Gov. Asa Hutchinson praised the quality of the workforce that's part of the Work Ready Community in Crittenden County during a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Tuesday.

The Mississippi State Board of Education voted today to open public comment on the addition of the ACT WorkKeys assessment, in conjunction with a recognized career pathway or industry certification, to the accountability measure evaluating how schools and districts prepare students for college and the workforce. The Commission on School Accreditation on Dec. 10 approved unanimously a proposal from the Mississippi Department of Education to require a WorkKeys Silver level student performance and completion of an industry certification or pathway to ensure comparable rigor between ACT and ACT WorkKeys in the accountability model. 

Today we celebrate an exciting milestone: more than five million ACT® WorkKeys® National Career Readiness Certificates® (NCRCs®) have been earned since 2006. The NCRC is a nationally recognized credential that validates foundational workplace skills by measuring a range of hard and soft skills relevant to any occupation, at any level, and across industries. The employment and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have only exacerbated the urgent need (for employers, current employees, high school students, work-based learners, the unemployed, and job seekers alike) to recognize this portable, evidence-based credential.

No matter what kind of crisis or disaster comes your community’s way (and 2020 has brought many), there are steps you can take to build the resiliency you need and hone the skills and flexibility that will keep your economy thriving.  Here are three techniques for keeping your community resilient, followed by resources to help you along the way.

The MOKAN Partnership coordinated a ceremony and proclamation with the Joplin City Council Monday evening to recognize local efforts in the renewal of Jasper County's Work Ready Communities designation. Video courtesy: City of Joplin

The MOKAN Partnership coordinated a ceremony and proclamation with the Joplin City Council Monday evening to recognize local efforts in the renewal of Jasper County's Work Ready Communities designation. 

Delta Regional Authority announce awards for the Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) initiative to support workforce training and education in rural communities.  ACT congratulates the grantees in their awards and applauds their innovative solutions.

• Southeast Arkansas College, $130k:  Establish certificate program for Supply Chain Technology; train 45 workers
• Restore Hope, Little Rock, AR, $130k:  Recovery-to-Work program in metal fabrication sector for individuals affected by substance abuse disorder; 16 workers
• Delta Area Economic Opportunity Corporation, Portageville, MO, $150k:  Agri-biz work-based learning; train 50 workers
• Missouri State University, West Plains, MO, $95k:  Robotics training; 50-75 workers
• ProGeny Place, Memphis, TN, $102k:  Food-based manufacturing and distribution certificates for victims of domestic violence; 20 workers
• Rural Health Association, Decaturville, TN, $149k:  Pre-apprenticeships for nuring aids and assistants; 500 workers
• theCO, Jackson, TN, $77k:  Dev Catalyst Alumni Program in computer science, web development, and data management; 1,800 workers
• Griot Arts, Clarksdale, MS, $127k:  Internship-to-Job Pipeline; 35 workers
• Research Park Corporation, Baton Rouge, LA, $150k:  Expands Apprenti Louisiana to 57 parishes; 48 workers
• Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA, $150k:  Boost cybersecurity knowledge to re-employ workers displaced in cybersecurity/cyberdefense
• University of Holy Cross/Delgado Community College, New Orleans, LA, $150k: Bachelor degree completion in Culinology; 10 workers  

Since 2007, Boeing and St. Louis Community College’s innovative workforce development partnership has trained and positioned over 900 job candidates for successful careers at Boeing. STLCC and Boeing now announces the second run of the Boeing Pre-employment Training Program for high school seniors.  WorkKeys requirements include 4 in Applied Math and Graphic Literacy with a 5 in Workplace Documents.

This week's Guam Workforce Conference marks the launch of Work Ready Communities, the first of its kind in any U.S. territory.  Local workforce ecosystem leaders successfully launched training intitiatives in ship repair and truck driving since their first conference in September.