WASHINGTON COUNTY ACHIEVES 1ST MAINTENANCE LEVEL CERTIFICATION THROUGH ACT

Feb 4, 2019

The Washington County Economic Alliance (WCEA) is pleased to announce that Washington County has met all the criteria to achieve their two-year growth and maintenance phase to retain their ACT Work Ready Community certification. Washington County is the second county in the State to achieve its maintenance certification.

“We are thrilled to have reached the first ACT Maintenance Level for Washington County.  Having reached this certification, shows that Washington County has demonstrated that we are serious about building a strong workforce in Washington County,” said Cary Karlson, Executive Director of the Washington County Economic Alliance.

In 2017, the WCEA became the second certified ACT Work Ready Community in Mississippi. The certification along with regional recruiting initiative of Delta Strong place Washington County at a significant advantage when recruiting new industry. Existing industry can take advantage of the program by utilizing the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) in combination with ACT Job Profiling. Presently, there are a total of 2,412 ACT NCRC holders in Washington County, and of that, 1,249 hold a Silver-level NCRC

“We congratulate Washington County for this significant achievement,” said Tony Garife, ACT Regional Manager, Workforce Initiatives. “The progressive thinking and positive action demonstrated by county leadership shows an enduring commitment to growing the economic success of the area. As a result, local residents will begin seeing the important linkage between education and workforce development and the value of matching people to jobs.

The ACT Work Ready Communities initiative is designed to assist a particular area, region or state in developing its workforce pipeline to provide skilled workers for employers. The framework allows each participating community to quantify and improve the skill levels of its workforce through a standardized workforce skill credential—the ACT WorkKeys® National Career Readiness Certificate™—supported by data updated online by Iowa-based ACT on a monthly basis.

To learn more about how an employer can use the ACT Work Ready Communities initiative, please contact Executive Director Cary Karlson or Deputy Director Will Coppage at 662-378-3141.