ACT Newsroom & Blog: Work Ready Communities 25k Employers Strong and Growing

Written by ACT | Jul 29, 2019 5:00:00 AM

“ACT Work Ready Communities is a great win for the local community. By using WorkKeys, we are able to recruit locally for better retention and lower costs and keep our roots in the community in good paying jobs. This provides for the continued economic growth of our community. It’s truly a win for everyone.” – Trudy Haszlauer, Labor Relations Manager, NV Energy

In addition to a year-long celebration of our 60th anniversary, we have another milestone to celebrate: ACT Work Ready Communities is officially 25,000 employers strong, and growing.

In just seven years, we’ve grown Work Ready Communities from 0 to 25,000 employers supporting the ACT® WorkKeys® National Career Readiness Certificate® (NCRC®), a nationally recognized credential certifying that an employee has the foundational skills necessary for workplace success. Employers play a key role in Work Ready Communities by pledging on our website their recognition and recommendation of the NCRC.

Drumroll for the 25,000th Employer

Remember that quote from above? We’re proud to announce that NV Energy is our 25,000th employer recognizing the NCRC.

NV Energy is a public utility which generates, transmits and distributes electric service in northern and southern Nevada, including the Las Vegas Valley, and provides natural gas service in the Reno-Sparks metro area of Northern Nevada.

WorkKeys is essential to the success of NV Energy and its employees.

“We at NV Energy use ACT WorkKeys to assess aptitude in order to be considered for our trade positions. This allows us to get the right people into our apprenticeship programs and ultimately provides our new employees a greater chance at success.”

So, what is a Work Ready Community?

Since 2012, ACT Work Ready Communities has been providing a community-based framework that links workforce development to education, aligns with the economic development needs of communities, regions, and states, and matches individuals to jobs based on skills levels.

A Work Ready Community empowers states, regions and counties with data, processes and tools that drive economic growth. Participants in the ACT Work Ready Communities initiative leverage the NCRC to measure and close the skills gap, and build common frameworks that link, align and match their workforce development efforts.

What is ACT’s role?

ACT is a partner to counties and regions in these efforts, and delivers the process for involving states and counties; the assessment and certification tools; and rich, county-specific workforce skill data updated each month. While we’re here to help, it’s really all about community engagement among stakeholders, including businesses and industries, individuals, policymakers, educators, and economic developers.

ACT certifies communities by setting goals that identify a skilled workforce and engage employers to recognize or recommend the NCRC. By achieving certification, a community has met a nationally recognized standard of excellence.

Once certified, it doesn’t end there. We have multiple ways to maintain certification status with other activities to promote stakeholder engagement.

How Should Employers Participate?

Employers can make the most of the program by using the NCRC in hiring practices, promote their company in our online directory, and take advantage of the employer toolkit.

You can learn more about Work Ready Communities, and ACT’s workforce solutions at the 2019 ACT Workforce Summit, October 28-30.

Register now to catch early bird pricing, which runs through July 31. And don’t miss the ACT Work Ready Community Luncheon where we recognize the accomplishments of ACT Work Ready Communities teams over the past year.

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About ACT

ACT is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people achieve education and workplace success. Grounded in 60 years of research, ACT is a trusted leader in college and career readiness solutions. Each year, ACT serves millions of students, job seekers, schools, government agencies and employers in the US and around the world with learning resources, assessments, research and credentials designed to help them succeed from elementary school through career.

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