The Delta. Work Ready Community

Transcription

1 The Delta Becoming a Certified Work Ready Community

2 DELTA COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ACT WORK READY COMMUNITY Q & A 1) What is a Work Ready Community (WRC)? The ACT Work Ready Communities (ACT WRC) initiative is a national effort, led by ACT, to provide a framework for communities to build an economic development, community based approach grounded in certifying counties as Work Ready. ACT awards this certification when counties achieve goals (based on common criteria) of individuals in the workforce earning an ACT National Career Readiness Certificate (ACT NCRC ) and businesses recognizing, preferring or recommending the ACT NCRC. Change starts at the grassroots level, by providing a community-based framework that: Links workforce development to education Aligns with the economic development needs of communities, regions and states Matches individuals to jobs based on skill levels Based on ACT s research, ACT Work Ready Communities are improving the skills and work readiness of the workforce while giving the area businesses an efficient, reliable way to identify skilled job candidates. These communities provide counties with actionable data and specific workforce goals to drive economic growth. The key instrument designed to measure and close skills gaps among workers and job seekers is the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate. 2) What is the National Career Readiness Certificate? The ACT National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) is a portable, evidence-based credential that certifies essential skills needed for workplace success reading for information, applied mathematics, and locating information skills required for 77 percent of jobs based on ACT s Job Profile database. The NCRC is based on a job skills assessment system that helps employers select, hire, train, develop, and retain a high-performance workforce. 3) What are the benefits of a WRC and who benefits? Businesses and industries can learn exactly what foundational skills are needed for a productive workforce and can easily communicate their needs to job seekers Individuals can understand what skills employers require and how to prepare for career success Policymakers can consistently measure skills gaps in a timely manner at the national, state, and local levels Educators can close skills gaps via tools integrated into career pathways with stackable, in dustry-recognized credentials Economic developers can use an on-demand reporting tool to market their workforce

3 4) Why is a Work Ready Community important? Challenges in the Delta: Like many rural areas, the Mississippi Delta has a workforce perception problem that is rooted in fundamental challenges. The region does not have a fourth generation manufacturing workforce like some regions of the country. Many who are working in manufacturing are the first generation in their family to be employed by a manufacturer. Yes, these employees may lack some of the skills needed to work in this environment, but these skills can be trained. With changes in technology, it is even more critical that companies have a qualified workforce. Businesses report skill shortages in math, problem solving, critical thinking, reading work related text, etc. These skills are the building blocks for job-specific skills and affect performance and trainability on the job. The National Career Readiness Certificate links workforce development to education so the Delta can better address skills shortages. 5) What is Delta Council s role in WRC? In a meeting with Delta Regional Authority Federal Co-Chairman Chris Massengill, Delta Council was informed about DRA s Workforce Development Capacity Building & Technical Assistance Notice of Funds Availability for initiatives based on the Reimagining Workforce Development report. Two weeks later, Delta Council staff along with a representative delegation of area economic developers attended session one of four ACT Work Ready Community Academies. Delta Council agreed to serve as the regional host to provide grant funding and technical support for participating counties in the first year of implementation. An invitation was sent to economic developers and industrial foundation leaders in other MS Delta counties to attend a webinar conducted by ACT and held at Delta Council to discuss the basics of WRC. As a result, six counties committed to participating in the 1st year pilot initiative. 6) What communities are participating? The leadership of the following agencies has committed to spearhead the Work Ready Community initiative in their communities: Cleveland/Bolivar County Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Authority of Coahoma County Greendwood Leflore Carroll Economic Development Foundation Sunflower County Economic Development District Tunica Mississippi Chamber and Economic Development Foundation Washington County Economic Alliance Yazoo County Economic Development District and the Workforce Development Division

4 7) What about those communities that are not participating? The Work Ready Community initiative is open to the leadership of the other twelve Delta counties. Those communities can begin the WRC process when they have the time and capacity to fulfill ACT s requirements. Delta Council will support these counties throughout the WRC process and offer technical assistance, as needed. 8) What are the responsibilities of participating communities? Complete ACT county application Finalize demographic data and obtain goals Form a local team of industry leaders, business leaders, elected officials, K-12 school administrators, community college administrators, etc. Secure commitments from employers Promote the WRC objectives in the community and among team members Serve as community liaison to the regional team, which includes having two representatives as active members on the regional team Attend ACT Academies 9) What have participating communities done to date? The six communities are at varying stages in the WRC process. They are also meeting with community leadership to garner support. Delta Council and the communities involved have developed a mission and goals for this initiative. 10) What are next steps? Identify what our region will do to acquire NCRC Status Energize, educate, and organize the regional team Complete six counties and regional ACT applications Schedule regional and local meetings with stakeholders Plan the regional roll-out 11) What are the impediments to success? Consistent Service Delivery Framework and Data Collection System Mississippi s community college system has been delivering ACT s State CRC since 2002 with the Mississippi Community College Board (MCCB) collecting the data. In order for ACT to convert our State CRC to NCRC data, the MCCB must purchase a database account through ACT. Once an account is established, historical State CRCs will be converted to National CRCs. Those individuals, who had the State CRC, will be able to obtain the National CRC which is a portable, evidencebased credential that companies recognize Nationwide. It is imperative that we work at the speed of business when delivering these services. In order to do that, we will work closely with the four community colleges in our region to create a consistent service delivery framework to ensure businesses and individuals are supported. If necessary, additional staff will be trained to administer assessments at additional test sites.

5 ACT Job Profiling To assist employers in determining which individual is the best fit for a position or which workers are candidates to receive job-specific training, businesses need a job analysis tool to assist in aligning the skills needed for a job with an individual s NCRC results. ACT job profiling brings the specifics of a job into focus and provides users with: a detailed, customized task list; a personalized validity report; and established content validity for the ACT assessment. Strong Local Teams To become an ACT Work Ready Community, it is crucial to build a strong local team that is ready for change and ready to take action! Each county is organizing a cross agency team of government, educators, workforce, economic developers and business/chamber leaders. Counties must commit to developing and launching a local WRC program.