March 25, 2022 - Governor Mike Parson, Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe, Senator Jason Bean, Representative Don Rone, Representative Andrew McDaniel, city and county officials, business leaders and the community at large gathered at an event in Caruthersville, MO, yesterday in which Governor Parson declared Pemiscot County a Certified Work Ready Community.
The Work Ready Community initiative in Missouri is an effort to align workforce and education to meet the economic needs of the state and local communities. It is guided by key community leaders (elected officials, economic development, business leaders, chambers of commerce, educators and workforce development, in each community). The vision for Work Ready Communities is to attract, retain, and develop a workforce with education and fundamental skills- Workplace Documents, Applied Math and Graphic Literacy – to succeed in the 21st Century.
To become a Certified Work Ready Community, the County must show a certain number of people have taken a test and received the National Career Readiness Certificate. The credential is awarded in four levels and verifies skills proficiency in:
Problem solving
Critical thinking
Reading and using work-related text
Applying information from workplace documents to solve problems
Applying mathematical reasoning to work-related problems
Setting up and performing work-related mathematical calculations
Locating, synthesizing, and applying information that is presented graphically
Comparing, summarizing, and analyzing information presented in multiple related graphics
AIM president and CEO Ray McCarty also spoke at the event. McCarty said Associated Industries of Missouri was involved in the original team that helped establish the Certified Work Ready Community program. Missouri was one of a handful of states that participated in the pilot project establishing the designation.
"We are proud to welcome Pemiscot County as the 87th Certified Work Ready Community in Missouri," said McCarty. "We represent the employers' perspective in this program. Employers want skilled workers that can fill the multiple job openings in nearly every company and they can use the National Career Readiness Certificates to measure an applicant's abilities and help match them to a particular job. But even more importantly, the employer will know if a particular applicant or employee needs work in a particular area to achieve their career goals. We are proud that Jasper County was the very first Certified Work Ready Community in the nation and we celebrate Pemiscot County achieving this milestone today," he told the crowded room.
Read more about the ACT Work Ready Communities program HERE.