ACT Work Ready

The Work Ready Community certification is a nationally recognized program that pairs employers’ support with assessments of employees and job seekers. Tom Green County is only the second nationally recognized Work Ready Community in Texas. This will help attract new business to the area. Local businesses can also use the program’s tools to hire and promote employees into optimal positions. That leads to reduced training costs, lower turnover, improved operations and customer service, and higher profits.

The Work Ready Communities program will help Tom Green County develop a pipeline between skilled workers and employers. Work Ready communities improve and measure the skill level of their workforces through a recognized standard – the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate™.  This credential is issued at the bronze, silver, gold or platinum levels to indicate career readiness.

To earn the community certification, local leaders attended the ACT Work Ready Communities Academy, an executive leadership program designed by ACT. They then worked toward certification goals by building awareness among, cooperation with and a commitment by local employers, policymakers, educators and economic developers.

Building blocks of the Work Ready program include:

• ACT WorkKeys^® These standardized tests measure a person’s essential work readiness skills in applied mathematics, reading for information and locating information. Such skills are critical for most jobs.
• ACT KeyTrain^®which helps workers improve their skill levels.
• ACT Career Ready 101,™ which helps teachers bring work readiness into the classroom.
• A job analysis system that helps employers understand ACT WorkKeys scores needed for entry into and effective performance in a given job.