Let's Get Missippi County Work Ready!

Let’s Get Mississippi County Work Ready!

Is finding new qualified employees an issue for your business? If so, then we are here to help!

Mississippi County is now participating in the ACT Work Ready Communities initiative. It is a partnership with East Arkansas Planning & Development District (EAPDD) and Delta Regional Authority (DRA). Businesses can use the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) as a recognized and preferred tool to assist in the recruiting and hiring of skilled workers. We want your business to recognize the National Career Readiness Certificate in order for our county to become a Certified Work Ready Community. 

What is the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC)? The NCRC is a nationwide credential for work readiness created by ACT to assess work skill levels. The categories of this assessment include reading for information, locating information, and applied math skills. Upon successful completion, the participant can score in the following areas.

•       Platinum Level – Should be able to successfully work  in 99% of all jobs

•       Gold Level – Should be able to successfully work  in 90% of all jobs

•       Silver Level – Should be able to successfully work  in 65% of all jobs

•       Bronze Level – Should be able to successfully work  in 35% of all jobs  

The Mississippi County ACT Work Ready Team will work to align workforce development strategies and obtain the ACT Work Ready designation in Mississippi County under the direction of Federal (Delta Regional Authority), state, (Arkansas Economic Development Commission and Department of Workforce Services), and local (East Arkansas Planning & Development District) agencies. This will be accomplished by a partnership effort with the following entities: Various Prominent Employers, Arkansas Northeastern College, Department of Workforce Services, and Great River Economic Development Foundation. By June of 2016, the team will accomplish the goals set forth by the Regional ACT Work Ready Committee, including:

•     Increasing the number of emerging NCRCs from 391 to 521 (25%)
•     Maintaining the current number of NCRCs at 110
•     Increasing the number of transition NCRCs from 333 to 466 (28%)
•  Obtaining at least 61 employer agreements that state they will at least RECOGNIZE the NCRC at their respective places of employment

Once these goals are met, Mississippi County will become a certified Work Ready Community.

The Work Ready Community team includes:

•       Gene Bennett, ANC Solutions Group, Dean of Workforce & Economic Development

•       Tamika Jenkins, Mississippi County Economic Development

•       Stacey Walker, ANC Solutions Group, Coordinator of Industrial Training

•       Sherri Bennett, ANC, Vice President for Advancement

•       Robin Singleton, ANC, Dean of Business and Technical Division

•       Dynice Karr, Tenaris, Administrative Analyst and Human Resources

•       Gregory Rainey, PHR, DENSO, Sr. Human Resources Generalist

•       Eddie Perdue, DWS, Local Workforce Director

This team will be holding Work Ready Community Informational meetings at the Greater Blytheville and South Mississippi County Chamber of Commerce in the coming months.

For more information visit http://workreadycommunities.org/ or contact Gene Bennett at Arkansas Northeastern College, 870-763-6222 or Tamika Jenkins at Great River Economic Development Foundation, 870-623-5397.

Below is a video about the ACT Work Ready Communities program. We are implementing this in Mississippi County.

What is an ACT Work Ready Community?