Skills-Based Workforce Development
We know that when communities work together, they can achieve truly great things.
This is why we created ACT Work Ready Communities (WRC), a collaborative that empowers states, regions, and counties to connect and foster data-driven economic growth. We work with communities to identify and close skills gaps and develop processes and frameworks that help them take their workforce development efforts to the next level.
ACT WorkKeys tools empower work ready communities to train, assess, certify, and define skills necessary for the demands of today. Participants leverage the ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) to measure and close the skills gap and build common frameworks that link, align, and match their workforce development efforts.
How Being an ACT Work Ready Community Improves Your Workforce Pipeline
Work Ready Communities Use ACT WorkKeys Solutions to Build a Stronger Workforce Ecosystem
Curriculum
Helps individuals build the essential career-relevant skills needed for learning, personal development, and effective job performance.
Assessments
Measure foundational skills required for success in the workplace, and help measure the workplace skills that can affect job performance.
Credentialing
Helps individuals earn, verify, certify, and share through Digital Badging, the essential foundational skills for workplace success.
Job Profiles
Links job tasks with WorkKeys Assessments to pinpoint benchmarks for hiring, recruiting, advancement, and training.
ACT Empowers You to Positively Impact Your Community
Discover how individuals like you are impacting their communities using ACT Workforce Solutions from coast to coast — across industries, government and civil services, and education sectors.
Webinar: Unlocking the Potential of Rural STARs
Learn about the untapped potential of rural workers who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes and their role in driving growth and innovation in rural communities.
Work Ready Ecosystem
ACT® Work Ready Communities brings together disparate individuals and organizations who share a common goal -- participating in a vibrant and sustainable economy that benefits everyone involved. The Work Ready framework provides a set of criteria for evaluating which participants are contributing to this goal and which need improvement.
With Work Ready Communities in 60% of U.S. states already, we’ve had the chance to see how this support, camaraderie, and idea sharing has helped so many communities thrive.
Work Ready Communities Are Putting ACT WorkKeys to Work!
ACT Work Ready Communities (WRC) is a framework for community-based workforce development. The primary reason more than 559 communities have decided to participate is to drive economic growth. When your community becomes a certified Work Ready Community, you can prove the economic viability of your area to employers, location consultants, investors, and other decision-makers because:
28,644 employers around the US have shown their support for Work Ready Communities.
States with state or county-led ACT Work Ready Communities
Use this map to find communities including counties, parishes and other county equivalents that participate in the Work Ready Communities program. Select a state or territory to see which communities are working to build an ecosystem that attracts new businesses and benefits workers, employers, and the community-at-large.
What Leaders in Workforce Development are Saying
Mike Parson
“Initiatives like ACT Work Ready Communities are critical to preparing our future generation for high-skill, high-demand jobs, and we are proud to be leading the nation in this effort."
-Mike Parson, Missouri Governor
Tanya Foreman
“At Eastman, we want good-paying jobs and rewarding career opportunities for everyone in our community. And engaging in ACT Work Ready Communities is enabling us to work with other business and community leaders to introduce students and residents to ACT WorkKeys and the ACT WorkKeys NCRC and how it can help them take charge of their career decisions.”
-Tanya Foreman, Education Initiatives Manager, Eastman Chemical Co.
Teresa Nortillo
“Not only does WorkKeys function as a preferred assessment tool in industry today, but the WRC website allows me to compare communities so I can recommend to my clients the counties with the best scores and percentage of population taking the assessment.”
-Teresa Nortillo, Nortillo Consulting Group
Robby Burgan
“ACT Work Ready Communities are setting themselves apart by intentionally developing their local workforce in support of their existing companies while positioning themselves to attract new companies."
-Robby Burgan, Former Manager of Location Strategies, Evergreen Advisors
Tracey Faulkner
"Being a Work Ready Community champion allows the ease of hiring the best people, and trust what you hired them to do. It allows me to help match the employees to jobs based on verified skill levels. Finding the candidate who possesses the proper trade skill through the ACT Work Ready Program reduces the overall recruiting, onboarding, and training cost. It’s a win-win for all involved."
-Tracey Faulkner, Former Director of Human Resources, R-Tech Tool & Machine, Inc.
More About ACT Work Ready Communities
The History of Work Ready Communities
Long-Term Success as an ACT Work Ready Community
Keys to Success for an ACT Work Ready Community
ACT Work Ready Communities Provide Value
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Ready to Learn More About ACT WorkKeys?
Talk to an ACT representative to get started.
Have questions? Call 800-967-5539, or complete this contact form.