Certified Workready

A skilled and workforce-ready labor pool is a critical driver of economic success. As a result, counties across the nation are seeking proven strategies to build workforce pipelines that are strong enough to attract industry and sustainable enough to support long-term economic growth.

Houston County has found the solution in Certified Work Ready because it provides a clear and validated measure of workforce skills that benefits employers, educators, and job seekers alike. Employers gain confidence in hiring and advancement decisions, educators gain a tool to align curriculum with labor market demand, and job seekers earn a portable credential that is recognized by employers nationwide.

For Middle Georgia, certification represents more than a designation. It serves as a signal to industries considering expansion or relocation that the region invests in its people and is prepared to support long term business growth.

The Certified Work Ready designation is achieved through conducting job profiles to identify the essential skills required for success in key occupations, administering the ACT WorkKeys assessments to validate those skills, and actively engaging employers who commit to recognizing and using WorkKeys credentials in their hiring, promotion, and retention decisions.

Through strong partnerships with the local school system, technical colleges, universities, workforce agencies, and employers, Houston County has been able to strategically connect businesses with qualified talent using the Certified Work Ready framework. By providing ACT WorkKeys assessments to high school students, college students, and transitioning military veterans, Houston County reinforces education-to-employment pathways and ensures that local employers have access to a workforce equipped with the skills needed to succeed.

Work Ready Certificate

Designed for individuals, it allows workers to take a skills assessment and earn a certificate indicating their skill and knowledge levels to potential employers. The assessment is administered by ACT’s nationally accredited WorkKeys® system and measures skills in the areas of applied mathematics, reading for information, and graphic literacy. A Work Ready Certificate, which carries the National Career Readiness Certificate seal, guarantees that job seekers have the portable skills to serve as a foundation for most customized training.

Work Ready Job Profiling

Designed to help employers build the right workforces for their needs, job profiling allows employers to profile required job tasks and skill levels to more easily match candidates to job opportunities. By comparing job profiles with individuals’ Work Ready Certification levels, companies can make reliable decisions about hiring, training and program development.

Certified Work Ready Community

This voluntary initiative enables communities to demonstrate that they have the talented workforce needed to fill current and future jobs. The certification also shows a community’s commitment to education and to improving public high school graduation rates, important factors for driving businesses to an area. Community leaders and those in the education, business and industry sectors all can come together to help their communities achieve the Certified Work Ready Community designation.