Communities

Certified Work Ready Communities have the skilled workforce that business demands and the educational infrastructure to drive economic growth and prosperity. To earn the designation, counties must:

• Demonstrate a commitment to improving public high school graduation rates through a measurable increase
• Show a specified percentage of the available and current workforce have earned Work Ready Certificates

All of the current Certified Work Ready Communities are working on recertification plans to maintain their status.

Georgia's current Certified Work Ready Communities include (click name of county for more information):

Jefferson County - October 2008

An active and engaged leadership team has helped Jefferson County become the first-ever Certified Work Ready Community in Georgia. To achieve this designation, the county demonstrated a commitment to improving public high school graduation rates and succeeded in driving current workers and the unemployed to obtain Work Ready Certificates.

Lil Easterlin, executive director of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, credits her community partners for her county's success. "Once we all got on board, it went really quickly," she said. "The schools jumped on it, and we've had several private industries go after this."

Jefferson County improved its high school graduation rate from 75.5 percent in 2006 to 79.1 percent in 2008, an improvement of nearly four percentage points in only two years. The county exceeded its Work Ready Certification goals in every category for a total of 397 Work Ready Certificates - 40 percent higher than the goal for a county of its size.

To help improve high school graduation rates, the county school system partnered with Sandersville Technical College to develop a dual enrollment program that now houses 160 students. Participants finish with both a high school diploma and a two-year technical college diploma. By also building Work Ready assessments into the high school, GED and technical college curricula, the county ensures that new entrants into the workforce are Certified Work Ready. "If it's in the fabric of the community, the initiatives will continue on regardless of who is in charge," Easterlin said.

Bartow County - February 2009

When international tire manufacturer Toyo Tires set up operations in North Georgia and announced a number of job opportunities several years ago, the media heavily criticized Bartow County for its lack of qualified applicants. Not to be defeated, county leaders in business and education banded together to strengthen the skill level of the workforce and improve high school graduation rates countywide by beginning the journey toward becoming a Certified Work Ready Community. Less than two years later, Bartow County has been designated a Certified Work Ready Community of Excellence; one of only six such counties in Georgia.

Fred Kittle, Vice Chairman of business and industry for the Cartersville Bartow County Chamber of Commerce, credits the entire Georgia Work Ready team for the community's success. "We are so fortunate to have full support from all of our community partners, without which we could not have accomplished this important designation," Kittle said. "From day one, each person involved in this project was completely committed to ensuring that Bartow County became a Certified Work Ready Community." Kittle credits the Chamber of Commerce for acting as the conduit for the program's success.

Bartow County citizens earned 1,713 Work Ready Certificates - 97 percent more than the goal for a county of its size. By partnering with North Metro Technical College and adding Work Ready assessments into the high school curriculum, the county improved its high school graduation rate from 64.5 percent in 2006 to 72.4 percent in 2008, an improvement of nearly 8 percentage points in only two years. The assessment was promoted through a variety of programs, including a local business challenge issued by the chamber of commerce to encourage more assessments and gap training for the county's workforce, a gift card promotion for students, gap training initiatives through local libraries and schools and movie theater advertising.

"Our designation as a Certified Work Ready Community of Excellence means quite a bit to our community," Kittle said. "Not only will we be able to encourage new business growth in this area, but we now have the tools to help our existing business and industry leaders attract and retain skilled employees that are better prepared for their jobs." 

Dougherty County - February 2009

After learning about Georgia Work Ready at the "Celebrating Rural Georgia" conference in 2007, the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce's Workforce Development Director Harriet Hollis jumped at the chance to apply for an accelerated grant for Dougherty County. She quickly gathered the necessary signatures and began to build support for the program with community leaders and area technical colleges. "I thought that the Work Ready initiative would be a good economic development tool for our county," Hollis said. "The Albany area had lost several employers over the past couple of years, so we were looking for a competitive edge."

In just a few short months, Dougherty County reached its goals for phase one of the program and was named a Certified Work Ready Community. Workers in Dougherty County earned 1,556 Work Ready Certificates, 37 percent above the goal for a county of its size. In addition, the county increased its public high school graduation rate from 57.5 percent to 63.3 percent. Several large employers in the area now require their employees to take the Work Ready assessment, and many give preference to workers that have been certified.

 In the midst of celebrating this important milestone, the county is already planning for phase two of the Work Ready initiative. "Our goals for phase two are to reach out to the unemployed population, small businesses and high schools to broaden our Work Ready assessment outreach," Hollis said. The Work Ready team is already planning quarterly business luncheons, unemployment outreach programs and high school graduation initiatives.

"Our Work Ready Community designation allows us to be a little selfish and progressive in our economic development," Hollis said. "We have a strong workforce and great support, and I am confident that we will be successful in recruiting business to Dougherty County."

Greene County - February 2009

Two years ago, a group of individuals in Greene County assembled to develop a plan for improving economic development. The group quickly organized a team of business, industry and education stakeholders and applied for an accelerated grant to become a Certified Work Ready Community. With strong partnerships and a common goal in mind, the team successfully implemented the Work Ready initiative in Greene County. Just a few months later, the county was named one of Georgia's first Certified Work Ready Communities of Excellence.

Working closely with the Greene County campus of Athens Technical College, the Work Ready team put together a strategic plan for promoting the value of Work Ready throughout the county. "Our community partners were instrumental in helping us get the word out about Work Ready," said Linda Edington, campus director at the Greene County campus of Athens Technical College, and Greene County's Work Ready assistant team leader. "From the housing authority to the Ritz Carlton Lodge at Reynolds Plantation, all of our partners understood and promoted the value of these certificates for the county as a whole."

Using Work Ready, Greene County improved its high school graduation rate from 68.2 percent in 2006 to 76.2 percent in 2008. The county met and exceeded its Work Ready Certificate goal with a total of 349 Work Ready Certificates earned - 20 percent higher than expected for a county of its size. Team leader Dick Schneider is credited for orchestrating the process for all of Greene County's partners.

"We are so proud to be among the first counties to be recognized as a Certified Work Ready Community of Excellence, as this was a truly collaborative effort," Edington said. "There are so many people who really are committed to the success of our county as a whole, so this feeling of accomplishment is shared by all." 

Hart County - February 2009

Content Coming Soon

Laurens County - February 2009

Less than two years after starting process, Laurens County has been named one of the inaugural Certified Work Ready Communities of Excellence. By demonstrating both an increase in public high school graduation rates and an increased number of Work Ready Certificates earned, the county is one of a select few in the state to receive this title.

Jep Craig, vice president of economic development for the Heart of Georgia Technical College, credits the strong leadership team and supportive network of education, government, business and industry leaders with the program's success. "Our industry partners were a huge part of our success with Work Ready," he said. "So many businesses in the county have really embraced the importance of assessments and Work Ready certification, which will only make Laurens County more competitive in today's global economy."

Since beginning the program, Laurens County workers have been awarded 1,655 Work Ready Certificates, exceeding its goal by 110 percent. In addition, public high school graduation rates increased from 66.7 percent to 70.9 percent, and are on track to increase again in 2009. The Work Ready team is already working with the Georgia Department of Labor on phase two of the program, planning a Work Ready career fair and encouraging more unemployed workers to become certified.

"As a community, we will continue to be proactive in aggressively seeking new businesses and industries, and retaining those we have," Craig said. "We can now promise to offer the optimum job training and skills to match any business needs." 

Franklin County - April 2009

Franklin County's achievement of Certified Work Ready Community status came sooner than any of its supporters anticipated. Team leaders began working toward community status in 2007, shortly after the hire of new school superintendent Dr. Ruth O'Dell. Because of the time commitment necessary on the part of the superintendent's office to seek accelerated Work Ready Community status, Franklin County elected to take a longer, three-year approach.

"We underestimated Dr. O'Dell, to say the least. She stepped up and took the bull by the horns," said Lyn Brumby Allen, team leader and director of economic development for the Franklin County Industrial Building Authority. "Dr. O'Dell is very supportive of Work Ready and really believes in the program. She recognizes that Work Ready is especially important to our students, because they are our county's rising workforce."

With the additional collaboration of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce's business committee and the Franklin County Industrial Building Authority, the team provided Work Ready assessments to the majority of the graduating class of Franklin County High School. Additionally, a friendly competition with Hart County High School supported the work of the faculty and students to increase the graduation rate. These efforts led to the county increasing its public high school graduation rate from 60.3 percent to 68.3 percent in one year.

Strong support from community leaders and educational institutions has paid off. Members of the Chamber Board or Directors and Leadership Franklin, as well as high school faculty, completed the assessment in order to provide leadership and experience in promoting the Work Ready initiative. North Georgia Technical College provided proctors to administer the assessments, and North Georgia Technical College and Emmanuel College both offered facilities for assessments, as did local churches. Many businesses are recognizing the benefits of advertising that they prefer to interview Work Ready Certificate holders as job candidates, which helps spread the message to the public that Work Ready Certification is a desired quality for job seekers.

The team used creative methods to promote Work Ready assessments to community members. Flyers went into school book bags to get the attention young parents in the job market, and were also distributed to local grocery stores and housing authorities to promote Work Ready assessment sites and times. The team also worked with community employment agencies, the local labor board office, local radio and news media, and advertised on bank reader boards to encourage job seekers to take the assessments.

"I believe we've done a pretty good job of getting the word out. We have to constantly keep our efforts in front of people," said Allen. As a result, Franklin County residents have earned more than 330 Work Ready Certificates - 56 percent above the desired result.

Franklin County hopes to continue outreach efforts by encouraging more businesses to offer Work Ready assessments to their employees and to use assessment results to determine pay raises and training opportunities. "The leadership in Franklin County recognizes that we need to be prepared for the 21st century job landscape and this new economy that we are living in. We have more work to do, and are determined not to be left behind." said Allen. "We have lost a lot of industry in our region and are working hard to position our county for attracting new industries and businesses to the area. We are confident, with the help of the Work Ready program, that Franklin County has the workforce to attract these new businesses and industries."

Upson County - April 2009

In 2007, Upson County's Workforce and Education Development Alliance (WEDA) recognized the need for Upson County to get involved with Georgia Work Ready. Leaders from the Thomaston-Upson Chamber of Commerce, the local high school, the Department of Labor, the business community and Flint River Technical College reached out to their network of friends, family, church members, business colleagues and the greater community to begin a word-of-mouth campaign encouraging community support of the county's initiative to become a Certified Work Ready Community.

"Becoming a Certified Work Ready Community offered Upson County graduates and job seekers greater opportunities to set themselves apart from other job applicants," said Kris Thomas, education manager for Quad/Graphics and WEDA member. "Additionally, the chance to provide business owners with a larger pool of certified skilled employees fueled our commitment to bring graduation rates up and increase the number of certified workers in Upson County."

Efforts by the local youth apprenticeship coordinator to have Work Ready assessments for seniors made part of the schools' Work Based Learning Program curriculum, as well as assessments made available to all students pursuing a GED through adult literacy programs, greatly contributed to the success of increasing the numbers of Upson County residents earning Work Ready Certificates.

The Thomaston-Upson Chamber of Commerce and the local Workforce Investment Board promoted Work Ready by offering those who become Certified Work Ready $25 worth of "Chamber Bucks" that could be spent in community businesses.

Businesses including TenCate and United Bank supported efforts by offering assessments to their employees and incorporated the need for Work Ready Certification among new hires. E7 Technologies went so far as to bring an assessment van onsite for employee convenience. Quad/Graphics' plant team leaders personally participated in Work Ready assessments onsite in their plant computer lab.

"The most important thing is for leaders to get assessed - don't expect others to do the assessment if you aren't leading," said Thomas. "We have to encourage influencers to earn Work Ready Certificates so that we can talk credibly about it."

Upson County earned its Certified Work Ready Community status in the spring of 2009 with 420 skilled Upson workers having earned Work Ready Certificates - 34 percent more than originally targeted. Additionally, the county's public high school graduation rate rose from 65 percent to 73.2 percent between 2007 and 2009. Through June 2009, there are now 694 Certified Work Ready Certificate holders in Upson County.

In February 2008, Upson County was awarded the "Road to Readiness" Award for exceeding expectations in the number of Work Ready Certificates earned and in the improvement of high school graduation rates while pursuing certified community status.

Chattooga County - June 2009

When the Chattooga Chamber of Commerce received state grant money to pursue Certified Work Ready Community status, it enlisted the help of other county business leaders, government officials and members of the school administration and elected Al Hutchison, associate vice president of economic development at Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC), as team leader. Backed by the support of Sole County Commissioner, Mike Dawson, and his successor, Jason Winters, as well as Don Henderson, vice president of manufacturing for Mount Vernon Mills, the team met numerous times to devise a plan of action. "We broke the plan down into small enough areas of responsibility so that we could accomplish all of our goals," said Hutchison. "'Work your plan!' became our motto."

Chamber members recruited community businesses to create job profiles, conduct assessments of their existing workforce and require Work Ready Certification of potential new hires. Businesses also saw value in using the Work Ready assessment to evaluate current employees' skill sets and determine where gap training could enhance employees' career opportunities.

County government officials supported the county's bid to become a Certified Work Ready Community by assessing a majority of its employees and requiring and offering Work Ready Certification assessments to new hires. They also created job profiles, which were used along with the Work Ready Certification results of existing employees to determine pay increases and career advancements. Both Chattooga's public and private sectors used these results to understand if they had qualified employees or new applicants who could meet current standards, or be successfully trained if they weren't job ready because they qualified in the Work Ready Certification process.

Chattooga County and Trion city schools also mobilized efforts to provide high school seniors with Work Ready assessments. Proctors provided by GNTC monitored all the testing. "We were able to use the Work Ready grant funds to help the graduation coaches develop a plan to enhance graduation rates," said Hutchison. "Because of the hard work of the graduation coaches, as well as school administrators, we tested the seniors in Chattooga County, an exciting accomplishment for us."

As a result of these efforts, the public high school graduation rate increased from 70.3 percent to 75.8 percent. "Work Ready Certification will add tools to the toolkit of our young people and those seeking to better themselves with new job opportunities," said Hutchison.

By June 2009, Chattooga County residents had earned 503 Work Ready Certificates, 56 percent more than the county's goal.

Future efforts to continue Chattooga's momentum include coordination with the city of Chattanooga and Hamilton County, Tenn., to provide information about Work Ready in anticipation of the 2,000 jobs a new $1 billion Volkswagen plant currently being constructed in northern Chattanooga will bring. Additionally, Commissioner Winters is working with the Department of Transportation to erect highway signs to advertise Chattooga County's Certified Work Ready Community status.

"Being a Certified Work Ready Community gives Chattooga County a powerful economic development tool to bring new businesses to our community," said Hutchison.

Cook County - June 2009

Cook County's journey to Certified Work Ready Community status was atypical of most communities. When county leaders were first introduced to the Work Ready initiative, they were skeptical of Cook County ever seeing the results it claimed to offer. While these community leaders determined whether or not they should pursue Certified Work Ready Community status, key industries in the community reached out to the Cook County Economic Development Commission in search of skilled, certified workers.

"There was some skepticism upon hearing about Certified Work Ready Communities, but then we began hearing of our industries' needs and realized that this would help us meet those needs," said Kerry Waldron, director of economic development at Cook County Economic Development Commission and Cook County team leader. "We dove in and made it work for us. Our approach was unconventional, but it worked."

County leaders focused efforts on helping members of the community earn Work Ready Certificates through the assessment process. The Adel-Cook County Chamber of Commerce and the Cook County Economic Development Commission committed to the process by providing assessments to all leaders in their organizations so that they would be equipped to promote the merits of the program. "It was an eye-opening experience for everyone. We realized Work Ready does exactly what we need it to do by assessing those skills and qualification necessary to fill our industries with qualified workers," said Waldron.

Community support came from the business and manufacturing sector. BASF Global championed Work Ready Certificates by offering assessments to existing workers, recruiting certified new hires and using the assessments to determine necessary pay increases and bonuses. They also encouraged employees to get gap training and then reassess their skills in order to earn higher-level Work Ready Certificates and qualify for raises.

The Certified Work Ready Community team tackled county industries one at a time by inviting company leaders to lunch meetings where they discussed Work Ready's benefits, as well as shared what the team hoped to accomplish. Inviting BASF and other early program adopters to give testimonials was instrumental in bringing other companies on board. "We took the approach of ‘industries first' and even though we didn't initially focus on achieving community status, we are the first southeast Georgia community to be certified. And we did it without any grant funding," said Waldron.

The team also reached out to the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) and worked with the agency to require benefit seekers to take the Work Ready assessment as part of their employment development plan. "We want to see all members of our community become marketable and employable," said Waldron.

Career counselors and community coaches at Cook High School were very supportive of efforts to assess graduating seniors. All graduating seniors for the last two years have been assessed. With the help of Work Ready assessments and other programs, Cook County now enjoys an increased public high school graduation rate from 64.8 percent to 67.6 percent.

The Cook County Workforce Development Center's efforts to offer Work Ready assessments to the public on site, as well as gap training, helped increased the number of Cook County resident participants. Nearly 300 Work Ready Certificates were earned in Cook County - 34 percent above the goal set by Certified Work Ready Community requirements. "We had a very unique approach that has been very successful," said Waldron.

Grady County - June 2009

Grady County's achievement of Certified Work Ready Community status is largely due to the determined commitment and hard work of its leaders and the greater Grady County community.

Rick McCaskill, Work Ready team leader and former executive director for the Cairo/Grady County Chamber of Commerce and Gary Pitts, vice president of economic development for Southwest Georgia Technical College, worked together seeking support from community leaders, civic organizations, business owners, educators and government personnel in their efforts to encourage high school and adult education students, unemployed job seekers, as well as currently employed members of the community, to complete the Work Ready assessments and earn a Work Ready Certificate.

Without the added support of Grady County Schools Superintendent Tommy Pharis, and the tireless efforts of Cairo High School teachers Pete Williams and Kevin Collins to reach high school students at high risk to drop out, the effort might have failed. Instead, Cairo High School graduates found school administrators reaching out to them with tools that would provide greater options for their future.

In conjunction with Cairo High School initiatives, Grady County saw a rise in its high school graduation rate from 65.1 percent to 71.4 percent.

Campus representatives Ed Gravenstein and Charlie McBee, along with librarian Ann Wooten, led efforts at Southwest Georgia Technical College to assess technical college students, while Dale Aldridge, director of adult education, and Susie Butler, adult education instructor, organized GED students at Southwest Georgia Technical College's adult education center to receive testing. Joey Ferrell, center manager, Grady County Department of Labor, guided unemployed job seekers into Work Ready, which brought total Work Ready Certificates earned by Grady County residents to 352, 22 percent above its goal.

Grady County's bid for Certified Work Ready Community status also received generous support from The Cairo Messenger, which promoted Work Ready to the community with interviews and editorials about the county's efforts, as well as provided information about the initiative and how it would benefit job seekers.

After two years of working to improve its high school graduation rate and encourage job seekers to earn Work Ready Certificates, the effort has paid off. "Grady County could not have achieved Certified Work Ready Community status without these very civically minded leaders who are proud of their community," said Pitts.

Jenkins County - June 2009

In 2007, the Millen/Jenkins Chamber of Commerce charged the Jenkins County Family Enrichment Center (JCFEC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of local families, youth and children, with leading Jenkins County's efforts to achieve Certified Work Ready Community status. Headed by then-team leader Julie Chance and Mandy Underwood, the JCFEC encouraged high school seniors, unemployed job seekers and employed members of the community to take the Work Ready assessment by offering gift cards as incentives because a Work Ready Certificate distinguishes job seekers from the rest of the employment pool.

JCFEC focused its efforts on assessing high school seniors. Last year, more than half of all Jenkins County seniors completed the assessment and efforts are underway to require all seniors to take the assessments as part of next year's curriculum.

"So many of our kids do not go to college because when they get out of high school they have to find jobs to help support their families," said Underwood, executive director at JCFEC. "Certification enhances their ability to help make ends meet."

Additional support was provided by Jenkins County High School Principal, Dr. Joey Kirkland, and his dedicated faculty and staff. JCFEC bolstered these efforts by providing funding for after-school credit recovery programs which offered students a chance to make up failed or missed classes and summer school classes needed to graduate. Jenkins County's graduation rate rose from 63.6 percent to 72.3 percent.

Elaine Williams, GED instructor at Swainsboro Technical College, also worked diligently with students in Swainsboro Tech's GED program to assess GED and adult education participants.

Community support for Work Ready assessments is also growing in the business sector. Leading by example, JCFEC requires Work Ready Certification of all new hires and has made the assessments available to its current staff. Queensborough National Bank & Trust offers incentives to its employees to take the assessment and also requires all new hires to be Work Ready Certified. Encouragingly, new businesses looking to move into the area have asked about Work Ready and are interested in the availability of Work Ready Certified workers within the county.

Since Jenkins County started the Certified Work Ready Community application process, residents have earned more than 277 Work Ready Certificates, an astonishing 67 percent above its goal. "Jenkins County is committed to offering its residents opportunities to improve their chances of gainful employment and to offer business owners the hiring confidence they need to select skilled workers from our community," said Underwood.

Barrow - October 2009

When the Governor’s Office for Workforce Development contacted Barrow County about its new Work Ready initiative, key community leaders from the business sector, local school system, adult education and post-secondary education, as well as local government, gathered to discuss how best to implement the initiative in Barrow County and apply for the accelerated Work Ready grant.

“We realized Work Ready provides us with a useful tool in achieving Barrow County’s economic development goals,” said Sherri Perry, executive director of the Winder-Barrow Certified Literate Community Coalition. “Work Ready will help Barrow County attract new businesses to the area by providing citizens with means to demonstrate their skills to employers and for the community to demonstrate to companies interested in coming here that Barrow County has individuals ready to go to work.”

Workforce Development Committee Chairman Joe Vogt, along with team members Perry, Lisa Maloof, Debi Krause, Tommy Jennings, Linda Moore, Chris Gray, Marshall Chambers and Sally Brown, began a dialog with business leaders about the Work Ready initiative and how business and industry would benefit from participation. Local companies, while at first slow to adopt the initiative, are now showing interest in both using the Work Ready assessment for setting hiring standards and for use in determining promotions, and in having entry-level jobs profiled.

The team continues to encourage local businesses to become active members of the Work Ready initiative and require Work Ready Certificates for hiring purposes, and to have more jobs profiled. To date, Barrow County residents have earned 1,443 Work Ready Certificates, more than 220 percent over its goal.

Work Ready’s education goals also aligned with local goals for demonstrating educational attainment and providing continuing education opportunities throughout the community. Increasing graduation rates is a top priority of the local school system which has worked diligently toward this goal for many years.

The business community has lent tremendous support to adult education initiatives, and has worked to bring technical education to the community. Barrow County Schools has education and career partnership programs in place, as well as articulation agreements and dual-enrollment opportunities with both Lanier Technical College and Gwinnett Technical College for qualifying students. Representatives from a number of post-secondary education institutions, including Athens, Lanier and Gwinnett Technical Colleges, the University of Georgia and Gainesville College, serve on these advisory committees and provide students with the opportunity to visit local technical college campuses and hear guest speakers talk about the various programs of study available to them. Barrow’s long-term efforts have raised the graduation rate from 69 percent to 75.5 percent, an increase of 5.5 percent.

As Barrow County works to build on its Work Ready momentum, focus will be placed on promoting gap training to silver and bronze certificate holders and continue to support Barrow County high schools by working with CTAE advisory groups, providing mock interviews for high school students and creating more job shadowing opportunities in the community.

“We also hope to provide opportunities for teachers to participate in a professional learning initiative at local industry locations and for business professionals to do the same in the classroom environments in order to provide different perspectives for both education and business partners,” said Vogt.

Barrow County looks forward to the benefits of Work Ready to its community as an economic development tool. “Certification means that we have a diverse workforce that is ready to meet the needs of businesses wishing to locate and thrive in Barrow County,” said Vogt. “We have supportive community leaders that will do what it takes to place Barrow County at the forefront of economic development in Georgia.”

Bleckley - October 2009

Without the tireless efforts of Amy Harrelson, Heart of Georgia Technical College, located in Dublin, Work Ready and Community Education coordinator, Bob Dixon, Work Ready Region project manager, and Team Leader Kathryn Fisher, Bleckley County’s achievement of Certified Work Ready Community status might not have come to fruition.

This team of Work Ready champions first presented the program to the Cochran-Bleckley Chamber of Commerce, believing that business leaders would embrace the program for their community. “Business and community leaders saw Work Ready as a means to improve the county unemployment rate, better prepare the community for future industry and encourage unemployed or non-workers to fulfill their lives and support their families,” said Fisher.

The team profiled positions within local industries to skill set standards. Strong support for Work Ready in the business sector came from Acuity Brands, which quickly enjoyed benefits of the profiling, both as a means of hiring qualified applicants, as well as encouraging current employees to improve their skills with gap training. “The guidelines established by the Work Ready initiative allow us to have some objective methods of assessing job applicants. The training available to existing employees will motivate them to improve their skills and should provide an increase in candidates who are capable of performing well,” said Steve Odom, Acuity Brands. Acuity now requires new hire candidates to take the Work Ready assessment prior to extending employment offers.

Committed to raising the graduation rate within their community, Bleckley County team leaders worked diligently to bring the Work Ready initiative to Bleckley County High School seniors by not only encouraging students to take the assessment, but also by offering the assessment on site. Interim Superintendent Dr. Bill Rowe, along with counselor Andy Williams championed the school’s efforts and provided instrumental support. “It has been great to see principals and other educators get excited about Work Ready,” says Dixon, “We want these graduates to have a certification that is recognized throughout the nation.” In 2009, the county saw an increase of 10.5 percent in the number of graduating seniors from the previous year, raising the graduation rate from 72.1 percent to 82.6 percent.

Further outreach to the community through print ads in the local newspaper and in the high school football program, as well as presentations to community clubs and organizations, encouraged working employees and job seekers to take the assessment and receive skills gap training. More than 550 Bleckley County residents have received certificates, 118 percent above the anticipated goal.

Brooks - October 2009

Brooks County was one of the first Georgia communities to begin the state initiative to become Certified Work Ready. Work Ready team members realized state grant funding would be a key factor in encouraging high school students and job seekers to earn new employment skills, as well as give Brooks County an edge when attracting potential businesses.

Led by Tina Herring, the team reached out to the Quitman-Brooks County Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, Kiwanis and other civic groups, as well as businesses in the community and city and county governments including the county school system to promote the Work Ready initiative. "The program is a way for rural Georgia to stand out with employers," said Tina Herring, director of the Brooks County Development Authority. “It is a means to larger goals — jobs for our citizens and a stronger community.”

Initially, Brooks County faced obstacles in adopting Work Ready due to a lack of an appropriate testing facility, as well as convincing workers that the time out of work required to take the assessment was worthwhile. Once they determined a facility testing site, Brooks County team members launched an aggressive advertisement campaign to educated job seekers.

The team also focused on building relationships with local businesses, asking industries to give consideration to Work Ready Certified individuals and built a partnership with Valdosta Technical College to offer skills gap training so that individuals could improve their Certificate level. Crown Health Care Laundry Services, Colony Bank, Citizens National Bank, Ameris Bank and TLC Doors and Trim are some of the companies that adopted the program early by preferring Work Ready Certified jobseekers for employment.

“There is huge support from the business community and we believe their support will increase exponentially as they reap the benefits associated with hiring individuals that are proven to have the skill sets necessary for the jobs available,” said Herring. Since the program began, more than 420 Brooks County residents have earned Work Ready Certificates.

In order to raise high school graduation rates at Brooks County High School, the team worked closely with Principal Howard Akers to encourage students to take the assessment, as well as take advantage of the skills gap training. Brooks County saw its graduation rate of 58.2 percent increase more than 11 percentage points to a rate of 69.7 percent and received special recognition from state Superintendent Kathy Cox for their continued improvement in raising graduation rates.

Catoosa - October 2009

Catoosa County began its efforts to achieve Certified Work Ready Community status backed by tremendous support from its community leaders. Al Hutchison, associate vice president of economic development at Georgia Northwestern Technical College, led Work Ready team efforts in Chattooga County and was determined to see Work Ready benefit Catoosa County as well. Hutchison’s staff was instrumental in driving the Work Ready initiative, having already profiled many jobs within the community’s industries and businesses for more than 13 years. Adopting the Work Ready initiative was a natural progression toward offering both businesses and job seekers with more options. “This has been a team effort. Team work – not any individual person - has been the driver of this initiative,” said Hutchison. “Team leadership and people taking control of their part of the program has been the driving force.”

Administrators Donna Henderson and Patty Hart worked tirelessly to push the initiative forward while others helped proctor assessment labs at Georgia Northwestern Technical College and in the local high schools. Work Ready was built into several of the college’s programs of study, which helped the community reach its assessment goals, as has working with Georgia Northwestern’s adult education division that administers GED exams. “We are currently working toward offering scholarships to pay for the GED so that workers have an even greater incentive to earn a Work Ready Certificate,” said Hutchison. “The College’s Adult Education Division has helped our team identify new people to take the assessments. People who are in the workforce who were not high school graduates are now able to raise their job prospects through the Work Ready certificate credential.”

The initiative also received tremendous support from the Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce as well as the Department of Labor. Martha Eaker, chamber president, and Al Abernathy, manager at the Northwest Career Center in Fort Oglethorpe, led efforts on behalf of their organizations. The Department of Labor integrated Work Ready by providing information cards to unemployed job seekers at all of its career centers and scheduling times for team administrators to come in and provide assessments and skills gap training.

Local high school principals and graduation coaches implemented “stay in school” programs that integrated Work Ready as part of their efforts. By consistently encouraging seniors to stay in school and take the Work Ready assessment, school administrators were able to offer assessments to all of the senior classes in Catoosa County’s three highs cools during the last two years. They also brought the high school graduation rate up almost six points from 70.9 percent to 76.2 percent.

Bill Clark, then chairman of county board of commissioners, and his successor, Keith Greene, helped foster awareness of the program within the community and encouraged business leaders to embrace the initiative. Propex Fabrics is one company that has benefited from Work Ready and has utilized the profiles and the skills gap training to qualify workers into special training programs. Ringgold Telephone Co. also assessed its employees and offered preferred job placement to Work Ready Certificate holders. In addition to private sector business, several departments within the state of Georgia require a Work Ready Certificate in order to apply for employment. Residents in Catoosa County have used their Certificate to secure jobs on the Georgia State Patrol, within the Department of Corrections and also as foresters with Georgia Forestry Commission. Workers in Catoosa County have earned 860 Work Ready Certificates, 25 percent more than their original goal.

“Work Ready represents something very important to Catoosa County. It shows businesses and industries that we have credentialed young people coming into the workforce who are ready to fill skilled positions. Work Ready also provides job seekers in the community that haven’t the opportunity to go to college or tech college with a competitive advantage that enables them to get a job that they might not have had otherwise and enjoy greater earning power,” said Hutchison.

McDuffie - October 2009

McDuffie County knew that achieving Certified Work Ready Community status would take hard work on the part of its leaders. Mike Carrington, development director of Forward McDuffie and McDuffie County Development Authority, took on the initiative with the help of Joyce Blevins, director of One-Stop, one of 20 job work service centers in Georgia. Blevins was excited to have Carrington lead efforts, knowing the task that lay ahead of them wouldn’t be easy, but would be worth it. “These new industries are very excited about Work Ready. They see McDuffie as having the workforce they need in order to succeed, and in turn have brought 276 new jobs to McDuffie during a time of economic recession,” said Carrington.

“We built a strong team from the beginning by bringing Mayor Kenneth Usry, along with McDuffie County Commission Chairman Charlie Newton, and other members of the city and county governments, industries and educational institutions together,” said Carrington. “With the support of these prominent community leaders, Work Ready had the strong leadership necessary to launch our initiative.”

Carrington reached out to industries within the county to understand their need for the local workforce to adopt new skills in order to fill critical positions. “If McDuffie wanted to keep the industries we have and attract new industries to the area, we needed to give them better workers. That’s exactly what the Work Ready initiative has done - our workforce is certified, has new skills and offers industries the means of employing the highest level of qualified workers,” said Carrington.

As part of McDuffie’s efforts to reach job seekers, a team was put together with members from the Department of Labor, One-Stop and Augusta Technical College. They worked together to assess job seekers and get them into the applicant pool by promoting the incentives of having a Work Ready Certificate. McDuffie County earned 869 Work Ready Certificates -- 164 percent above their goal.

The business sector embraced the team’s efforts whole-heartedly. More than 50 percent of all businesses in McDuffie now require job applicants to hold a Work Ready Certificate, and many others give preferential treatment to applicants holding a Certificate. In 2009, three new industries came to McDuffie County – Acclaim Lighting, APM Kaolin and Reliant Medical – and all three have recognized the advantage of hiring Work Ready Certified job applicants. Reliant Medical has assessed every person in its plant, regardless of position.

The team received tremendous support from local newspapers and radio. Carrington was often a guest on a popular Saturday morning radio show where he promoted Work Ready. The team used grant money to further promote and advertise Work Ready to community members, including educators. Invited by Superintendent Jim LeBrun, the team attended luncheons and dinners welcoming new teachers to the local school system, where they built momentum among teachers to support Work Ready. Graduation coaches and school officials worked together to encourage students to take the assessment. The schools first introduced students in the 10th, 11th and 12th grades to the ACT WorkKeys® training software where students could prepare for the Work Ready assessment given to all seniors each fall. The county saw its school graduation rate climb from 72.7 percent to 77.6 percent.

The McDuffie team marked the necessary milestones for Work Ready Community status ahead of schedule. “We feel Work Ready is a strong tool to get workers certified and recruit higher paying industries to our community. We have the qualified workforce to staff these industries, and our efforts are resulting in new jobs. It took commitment from all partners - if it wasn’t for their tireless work and dedication, we would not be in the position we now enjoy,” said Carrington.

Pike - October 2009

Ware - October 2009

Early in 2007, the Southern Growth Policy Board sponsored a series of community forums around the state on the topic of "Building the Next Workforce" and members of the State Board of Education were encouraged to attend. As the state board member for the first congressional district, Linda Zechman was inspired by the concept of connecting education to economic development in a meaningful way. The very next day she met with Cindy Eblin, workforce development director at Southeast Georgia Regional Development Center, to develop a strategy to bring the leaders of Ware County together.

In March 2007, 25 community leaders gathered together to discuss the Governor’s Certified Work Ready Community initiative and whether or not it would be a good fit for Ware County. After a thorough exploration of the benefits of the program, as well as the tremendous effort the initiative would require of community leaders, attendees were asked to cast an anonymous written vote.

“The question we faced was more than just whether or not Ware County wanted to be an accelerated Certified Work Ready Community. We all knew that our answer would determine whether Ware County would be a leader or a follower in economic development in southeast Georgia. That day, Ware County decided to lead; the vote was overwhelmingly in favor (21 yes, 4 no),” said Linda Zechman, former Ware County team leader.

Support in the business sector came from Satilla Regional Medical Center and Voith Paper Fabrics, which support Work Ready by requiring job applicants to hold certificates, and Simmons Manufacturing Company, which gives preference to Work Ready Certified applicants. ERC, a Jacksonville, Fla. company, moved to Ware County after research showed the community had a ready-to-go workforce with the qualifications it needed to open its doors. To date, residents of Ware County have earned 1,147 Work Ready Certificates, 102 percent more than its goal.

As part of its community plan, Ware County set educational priorities aimed at providing high school students and their families an array of support services and opportunities to ensure on-time high school graduation. They also focus on providing educational activities to middle and high school students that strengthen their understanding of the relationship between education and job opportunities. Through these efforts, Ware County increased its high school graduation rate from 62.6 percent to 76.6 percent.

Additional support came from Okefenokee Technical College, which partnered with Ware County schools to offer students dual-enrollment opportunities, as well as increased incentives to encourage graduating technical students and adults without high school diplomas or GEDs to take the Work Ready assessment.

Ware County continues to promote Work Ready in its community, thanks to efforts of Eblin, Andy Brannen, vice president for economic development at Okefenokee Technical College, and Sue Moore, economic development at Okefenokee Technical College. “Work Ready provides Ware County with a competitive advantage to bring new industries to our community which provides quality jobs to our skilled workforce,” said Brannen. “Ware County community leaders united around an important mission, both in word and deed, and the rest is history.”

Echols – October 2009

Echols County is a small community where residents are supportive of each other and band together to accomplish what is best for their community. When the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development presented Echols County community leaders with the Work Ready initiative, they saw a chance to increase opportunities for business development within the community, raise job skills of its existing workforce and encourage students to earn their high school diplomas and increase their hiring chances as Work Ready Certificate holders.

“There’s not that many of us, but we all pull together to support each other and our programs. It is not any one group or one person, but it is the entire community coming together,” said Florence Staten, coordinator for Family Connection and board member for Valdosta Technical College.

Derek Herring, Echols County commissioner, and Staten led community efforts to implement Work Ready. They were strongly supported by the efforts of Penelope Schmidt, director of career services and Work Ready at Valdosta Technical College. Schmidt led efforts at Valdosta Technical College to provide access to testing to students in its GED program, as well as worked with Brack Deloach at Echols County Schools to provide onsite testing for high school seniors.

Echols County has worked diligently to improve education standards in its schools. After-school programs provided support to students needing either to improve their grades or get test preparation assistance, and the county also applied for additional grant money to be spent on education efforts. In 2009, Echols County School, which serves all pre-K through 12th grade students for the county, was named a National Title 1 Distinguished School by the Department of Education for its commitment to ensuring that all children, regardless of economic status, met student academic achievement standards. Since starting Work Ready, Echols County has raised its graduation rate from 70.8 percent to 75 percent.

“Community support for education is high – everyone is involved 100 percent. We were the first school in Georgia to be recognized as a Model 21st Century Technology School after local citizens, farmers and area businesses donated funds to supply each classroom with interactive, computer-driven smart boards,” said Staten. “Everyone is excited to see the efforts made on behalf of Work Ready to improve education and gradation rates for our students, and to see them go on to secondary education or gainful employment.”

Because there are very few businesses in Echols County, most residents must travel to neighboring counties for employment opportunities. “Work Ready gives our residents a chance to stand out against other job seekers competing for employment who do not hold a Work Ready Certificate,” said Herring. “Our residents can confidently seek employment, knowing they are qualified talent, ready to go to work on day one.”

To provide Work Ready assessment opportunities to those residents employed outside the county during the week, Work Ready team leaders made assessments available on Saturdays, which they advertised across the county in The Echols Echo, the county’s only newspaper delivered to all residents free of charge. The Echols Echo is a relatively new paper and is excited to support both the residents of Echols County and the Work Ready initiative.

The county hopes that Work Ready will attract new businesses in need of a skilled workforce. Since beginning the Work Ready program, 81 residents have earned Work Ready Certificates, far more than the initial goal. ”Anything we can do to encourage new industry in our county is something we want to do” said Herring. “We are excited about Work Ready and look forward to seeing what it can do for our for our community as we continue to promote the initiative.”

Taliaferro – October 2009

As part of Georgia’s Region 7, Taliaferro County is participating in ‘Communities of Opportunity,’ an initiative sponsored by Governor Sonny Perdue, the Department of Community Affairs and the University of Georgia focused on economic development in rural regions. Community leaders gathered together to determine Taliaferro’s greatest needs and to create a development plan that would address those needs. Taliaferro chose to implement the Work Ready initiative and focus on economic development in order to attract new job opportunities and industries to Taliaferro County. Team leaders reactivated their development authority, electing Jackie Butts as chairman, and signed a two-year contract in exchange for state partner assistance.

Local government support came from Taliaferro County Board of Commissioners, and The City of Crawfordville. Taliaferro Schools Superintendent Dr. Lester Bivens and high school Principal

Jemessyn Foster also worked with the Work Ready team to make testing available to high school seniors. The Workforce Investment Board provided proctors to administer Work Ready assessments to seniors at the high school campus and Athens Technical College plans to provide training for new proctors in Taliaferro County so that residents will not have to drive to nearby counties to take the assessment.

Additional support has come from the Georgia Family Connection Partnership whose focus is on improving the lives Georgia's children. School programs designed to provide supplemental training in class subjects have also contributed to Work Ready’s momentum in the school system, and grant funding from the Department of Human Resources has helped continue these after-school programs. Since beginning the Work Ready initiative, Taliaferro County has raised its graduation rate from 68 percent to 80 percent.

“We have formed a collaboration of community leaders with regional and state partners who work together to get kids through school and get them to college or help them find a job,” said Butts. “Having support from the school system has been instrumental in improving education standards for our students.”

Team leaders continue to promote Work Ready to job seekers and businesses alike by advertising with the local newspaper and hanging posters and flyers at laundromats, churches and other local establishments. “We have some work to do in order to publicize it. Word is spreading. Since there aren’t many jobs in the community, these certificates give our residents a step ahead when going into other communities to find jobs. It gives them a leg up,” said Butts. “Hopefully in the long run, we will find industries to come to Taliaferro so that our residents can find jobs within our community – Work Ready gives us a better opportunity to make this happen.”

Stephens – October 2009

Elbert County – December 2009

Hancock County – December 2009

Lowndes County – December 2009

Lowndes County’s economic development efforts were already underway when they were presented with the Georgia Work Ready initiative. The team held meetings with Chamber of Commerce members, business and community leaders, high school administrators, government agencies and Society for Human Resource Management members, to gain their support for Work Ready. Because Penelope Schmidt, director of career services and WorkKeys at Valdosta Technical College, and her team offered WorkKeys assessments and created job profiles before Work Ready was implemented, many local businesses were already aware of the value of both the assessments and job profiles. The team easily converted these early adopters into champions for Work Ready.

“We have received great support from our local businesses and industries that have shared their experiences with other community businesses,” said Schmidt. “Lowndes County has seen a business expansion that has taken advantage of the Work Ready program by doing job profiles and requiring certification of job applicants. We see Work Ready as a means to boost our workforce talent pool and to attract better career opportunities for our citizens.”

The Work Ready team also reached out to members of the community through newspaper and online editorials, radio and television spots, traditional advertising, e-mail campaigns and networking events. They offered assessments to employees and jobseekers throughout the community as well as to seniors at Valdosta High School and Lowndes High School. Since beginning the Work Ready initiative, the combined graduation rate for Lowndes and Valdosta High Schools has increased from 67.9 percent in 2007 to 76.6 percent in 2009.

In addition to assessing high school seniors, the Lowndes Work Ready team provided the assessments at Valdosta Technical College and Valdosta State University. Supplemental educational programs are being established by the Bioscience Technology Circle of South Georgia Work Ready Region to provide bioscience-related career pathways to students at area high schools, Valdosta Technical College and Valdosta State University. Currently, Valdosta Technical College is pursuing a National Science Foundation grant in partnership with Athens Technical College, Gwinnett Technical College and Augusta Technical College to develop a Center of Excellence in Bioscience Technology.

“Work Ready provides Lowndes County job seekers with training necessary to increase their skills,” said Schmidt. “These additional credentials distinguish our workforce as the talent needed to attract industry to Lowndes County.”

As of October 2009, 1235 Lowndes County residents had earned Work Ready Certificates, and many of the local businesses now require and/or recognize Work Ready job seekers. The community is very supportive of the initiative, and anticipates that additional businesses and individuals will utilize the program to further promote workforce and economic development throughout the county.

“Work Ready means that we have the workforce and training to support our existing businesses and industries and to recruit new industries which positions Lowndes County as a competitive place to do business,” said Schmidt.

Mitchell County – December 2009

Walker County – December 2009

When Walker County was presented with the Work Ready initiative, Al Hutchison, associate vice president of economic development at Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC), embraced the chance to increase economic growth in Walker County. Concurrently, Hutchison led Work Ready team efforts in Catoosa and Chattooga Counties and felt confident that the GNTC staff had developed a successful plan that could achieve the desired results with the support of the community leadership of Walker County as well. “Having already achieved community support in the other counties gave us the confidence to undertake a similar plan of action that would be as successful for Walker County,” said Hutchison. Without the help of fellow GNTC teammates Patty Hart, Donna Henderson, and Susan Martin and the community teammates at the Walker County Chamber of Commerce, school system superintendents, high school principals, graduation coaches, Georgia Department of Labor Career Center staff members, local governments and private sector businesses and industries, Walker County could not have achieved this Work Ready Community of Excellence status. It was truly a community team effort.”

Leaders in the education sector were instrumental in coordinating and administering the Work Ready assessments to students in the local high schools, GNTC, and Adult Education locations. Walker County Schools Superintendent Melissa Mathis along with principals Roger Hibbs at LaFayette High School and Robert Smith at Ridgeland High School along with Chickamauga City Schools Superintendent Melody Day and Gordon Lee High School principal Randall Barker supported Work Ready. Graduation coaches Donna James of LaFayette High School, Jeff Guffey of Gordon Lee High Schoo, and Jason McKinney of Ridgeland High School who encouraged high school seniors to take the Work Ready assessments seriously, to improve their Work Ready certificate level scores with skills gap training plus encouraged all students to stay in school and graduate.

Walker County saw its high school graduation rate rise from 59.3 percent in 2007 to 70.7 percent in 2009, an increase of more than 11 percent. Efforts at Georgia Northwestern Technical College to offer onsite assessments and skills gap training to students enrolled in technical college classes, the adult education program, the commercial truck driving program of study and students enrolled in college life studies also boosted the number of Certified Work Ready recipients in the county.

The Walker County Development Authority, Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority, Georgia Department of Labor’s Career Center in LaFayette and the Walker County Chamber of Commerce supported the team’s Work Ready efforts by promoting Work Ready to local businesses and industries, and residents seeking employment. The team encouraged companies like Nissin Brake Georgia in Rock Spring to assess its workers and allow Work Ready Job Profiles to be accomplished. Led by Vice President Jim Owen and Human Resources Manager Penny Grigg, Nissin Brake offered onsite assessments to its employees and encourage them to take skills gap training. Along with Bluebird North Georgia and Unique Fabricating South, Nissin Brake has generated a significant number of job profiles that are now being used to develop job descriptions and to assist along with Work Ready assessment taking as considerations for promotions and/or pay raises.

“We hope that more businesses will see the value of incorporating the Work Ready job profiles and the earning of Work Ready Certificates as ways to encourage and motivate their existing workforce and enhance the talent of new hires,” said Hutchison. “By achieving Certified Work Ready Community of Excellence Status, Walker County has made a statement to itself and to others. The county has the local talent to attract more business and industrial opportunities to this area.”

To date, Walker County residents have earned 1,518 Work Ready Certificates, 103 percent more than the county’s goal. Walker County continues to strive for recognition as a Community of Excellence and has applied for a continuation grant to be used for training its citizens for the jobs being developed by existing, expanding, and new businesses and organizations.

“The additional grant monies will allow Walker County to recruit more businesses and industries. Currently, three of the four counties that comprise the Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority are Certified Work Ready Communities of Excellence,” said Hutchison. “This is an excellent recruiting tool for us as a region. We have a great plan in place, and we are working that plan with a superior team. Walker County, the Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority, and Georgia Northwestern Technical College are laying the groundwork so that when there is an uptick in the economy and recovery begins, we will be ready, Work Ready. We are excited about our potential.”

Additionally, several Georgia counties have reached their Work Ready Certification goals and are now focusing on attaining their public high school graduation rate increase goals. These include:

• Berrien
• Glascock
• Taylor
• Washington

Continue to Certified Work Ready Community Sign Up