Submitted by Monica Bailey, ACDC’s Executive Director
Atchison County Development Corporation (ACDC) is pleased to announce that Atchison County has achieved official designation as a Certified Work Ready Community (CWRC). The initiative helps communities validate skills and knowledge of their workforce to the business community. To recognize this achievement, a ceremony will be held at the Atchison County Courthouse on Thursday, August 9, at 11 a.m. The public is invited to attend.
This program allows local regions to assess their workforce and can be a tool in many aspects of economic development, from strengthening and expanding existing businesses to attracting new businesses. “Earning a CWRC designation is one way to show that we are proactive in the creation of a dynamic workforce and that local employers care about hiring the best and brightest our region has to offer,” said Monica Bailey, ACDC’s Executive Director. “Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments was a critical partner in this process, as were the local employers who signed on to recognize this program and the NCRC certification in their hiring process, including Atchison County, Community Hospital-Fairfax, and Midwest Data.”
By participating in the Work Ready Communities initiative, Atchison County is:
• Helping workers understand what skills are required by employers, and how to prepare themselves for success.
• Helping businesses effectively communicate their workforce needs to area education and workforce training programs.
• Providing educators with tools needed to close the skills gap by establishing career pathways for students.
In 2012, Missouri was selected as one of the first four states to participate in the Certified Workforce Ready Communities initiative by American College Testing (ACT). The initiative aligns workforce training programs with the economic development needs of communities; matches appropriate applicants to jobs based on skill level; and strengthens businesses by solidifying the workforce. ACT has awarded more than 107,127 National Career Readiness Certificates (NCRC) to workers in Missouri. NCRCs are accepted by more than 21,000 employers nationwide to verify individual work skills.
