The Van Buren Chamber of Commerce’s February Business After Hours came with an exciting announcement – The Western Arkansas Planning and Development District (WAPDD) shared that Crawford will be the first county in the western half of Arkansas to participate in the valuable workforce assessment program, Act Work Ready. The initiative’s purpose is to promote the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) Program as a county-wide effort to prepare the workforce for current and future needs.

The Act WorkKeys NCRC is an example of a career readiness credential that ties people, business, and communities together by helping the local workforce to have the right skills for the right job. It is a county-wide collaboration of the cities, businesses, local school districts, workforce agencies, chambers of commerce and the Western Arkansas Planning and Development District.

According to ACT, participating counties, regions and states help:

• Business and industry know exactly what foundational skills they need for a productive workforce – and to easily communicate their needs.
• Individuals understand what skills are required by employers – and how to prepare themselves for success.
• Policy makers consistently measure the skills gap in a timely manner at the national, state, and local levels.
• Educators close the skills gap, via tools integrated into career pathways with stackable industry-recognized credentials.
• Economic developers use an on-demand reporting tool to market the quality of their workforce. 

This is both a great achievement and exciting opportunity for our region. To learn more, please contact Dennis Williamson at dwilliamson@wapdd.org or Terry Carson at tcarson@vanburenchamber.org.