ACT Work Ready Community Initiative: Sullivan County. Presented by the Self-Sufficiency Vision Council-Employment Team United Way of Greater Kingsport

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1 ACT Work Ready Community Initiative: Sullivan County Presented by the Self-Sufficiency Vision Council-Employment Team United Way of Greater Kingsport

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4 WORK READY COMMUNITIES

5 Work Ready Community What is a Work Ready Community (WRC)? A certification that is offered through ACT for counties, regions, and states that provides databased and quantifiable evidence that the community possesses the following: Qualified workforce with measureable skills. Strong community alignment among education, industry and economic & community development.

6 Work Ready Community Leverages the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) to measure and close the skills gap. The Work Ready Certification process measures the quality of the local workforce, and provides business & industry with a pipeline of workers who have a proven skill-set. Serves as a marketing tool to attract new businesses to the area and promote expansion of existing businesses.

7 Work Ready Communities in the U.S. The states that appear in dark red are participating in the WRC program on the state, regional or county level.

8 Work Ready Community Testimonial from Certified Work Ready Community - Joplin, MO

9 Why Participate in WRC? Certified Work Ready Communities build a flourishing workforce by training and tapping talent in their own backyard. What s in it for US?

10 Benefits of WRC to Economic & Community Development Major selling point to attract new businesses to locate in Sullivan County, ensuring companies that they will have access to a highly-skilled, quality workforce. Increase our competitiveness among other counties in TN and in surrounding states. Overall increase in number of job seekers that have the NCRC, which is a key determining factor in site selection. Economic developers can use an on-demand reporting tool to market the quality of their workforce.

11 Benefits of WRC to Economic & Community Development Tennessee ranked the 2 nd Most Competitive State of 2013, according to Site Selection Magazine only 5 points behind #1. NCRC data has been added to the criteria that is considered to determine the economic development competiveness among states. Participating in the WRC initiative will further Tennessee in becoming the number 1 location in the southeast for high-quality jobs. Site Selection Magazine

12 Benefits of WRC to Businesses Access to a pipeline of workers that have a measurable skills-set. Hiring processes are made more efficient through the use of WorkKeys/NCRC time and costs are saved by identifying skilled applicants more quickly and easily. Potential to reduce turnover by hiring the right person for the right job, resulting in increased dollars saved for hiring and training. Business and industry know exactly what foundational skills they need for a productive workforce - and to easily communicate their needs. (This can be achieved through job profiling).

13 Benefits of WRC in Education WRC initiative links education and workforce to close the skills gap. School systems can utilize the NCRC to show that graduates possess work readiness along with basic literacy. Upon graduation, students can be equipped with a marketable, workforce credential that proves their critical thinking, problemsolving and trainability in the world of work. Some Work Ready Communities have chosen to implement the WorkKeys as a high school and/or college exit exam.

14 Benefits of WRC to Job Seekers Individuals understand what skills are required by employers and how to prepare themselves for success. By understanding employer expectations, job seekers will take the initiative to obtain the NCRC and be motivated to work towards the achievement of higher scores raising the bar and developing a higher quality workforce. Job seekers can gain confidence by knowing they have the workplace skills to perform a variety of jobs successfully, which will lead to more successful job interviews and on-the-job performance.

15 Path Forward - What s Involved Establish a WRC Leadership Team. Complete WRC Application and submit to ACT for consideration. Identify possible funding sources for WRC initiative. Continue researching best practices among Work Ready Communities. Gain acceptance into WRC Academy. Work towards the achievement of the WRC goals, also know as common criteria set for the county by ACT. Achieve goals for number of individuals with NCRC. Gain employer support and recognition of the NCRC.

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17 Sources of Information & Recommended Resources