JONESBORO, LA — The Jackson Parish ACT Work Ready Community (ACT WRC) team today publicly launched a new workforce initiative at the Jackson Parish School Board Meeting. The ACT WRC team, which consists of Jackson Parish School System, Jackson Parish Police Jury, Jackson Parish Chamber of Commerce, North Louisiana Economic Partnership (NLEP), Louisiana Delta Community College and Workforce Development Board 83, announced Jackson Parish will undergo the ACT WRC certification process.
The ACT WRC certification is part of a larger workforce development system, designed to assist a community, 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™.
At the same time, the community works with its employers to understand what foundational skills they need for a productive workforce. Employers can use the National Career Readiness Certificates to better screen and hire workers that fulfill their needs. Additionally, individual workers can better understand what skills are required by employers and how to prepare themselves for success.
Jackson Parish is the first of five parishes to have its public launch, after undergoing the ACT WRC Boot Camp training in Ruston on June 5th ̶ 6th. Four other parishes, Lincoln, Bienville, Claiborne, and Union, are expected to announce as well. Training for Jackson Parish participants was funded by a Pledge 10 grant from Jonesboro State Bank to the Jackson Parish School District and a $1,000 grant from NLEP. The Pledge 10 grant will also pay for ACT WorkKeys testing of transitional workers- those who are reentering the workforce after a lay-off, unemployment or incarceration.
Following the public launch today, the WRC team will have two years to meet its certification goals. During that time, the Jackson Parish WRC team will work toward their certification goals by building awareness, cooperation and commitment with local employers, policy makers, educators, students and existing workforce.
“We look forward to educating our employers and community members about the benefits of becoming a Work Ready Community,” said Dr. Robin Potts, Jackson Parish School CTE and Personnel Supervisor and WRC team leader. “We as a Parish will have to meet goals for testing students, existing and transitional workforce, as well as registering employers who support or use the WRC program.”
Those goals include having 501 students, 138 transitional workers and 52 employed workers who have earned their ACT WorkKeys® National Career Readiness Certificate™. Additionally, Jackson Parish must register 12 businesses who either use or support the WRC system. For more information on this initiative, go to workreadycommunities.org. For more information on all of ACT’s workforce solutions, go to act.org/workforce.
About ACT
ACT is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people achieve education and workplace success. Headquartered in Iowa City, Iowa, ACT is trusted as the nation’s leader in college and career readiness, providing high-quality achievement assessments grounded in more than 50 years of research and experience. ACT offers a uniquely integrated set of solutions that help people succeed from kindergarten through career, providing insights that unlock potential. To learn more about ACT, go to www.act.org.