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EDITORIAL: Work Ready status a plus for firms, workers
Mar 08, 2013 (The Sedalia Democrat - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Employers want to ensure that the people they are interviewing and hiring for jobs have the necessary skills and aptitude to do the work. Job applicants want to know where they stand in the job market and that the positions they are seeking meet up with their career aspirations and abilities.
The national ACT Certified Work Ready Communities initiative is aimed at fulfilling the needs of both groups. As reported in January by the Democrat's Bob Satnan, Pettis County is participating in the program, which provides testing for workers to secure a National Career Ready Certificate through an evidence-based exam that lets companies know how well prepared a candidate is in areas such as reading for information, applied mathematics and locating information. And through the certification, employers have a standard with which they can measure applicants.
On Friday, Missouri's Jasper County was announced as the first county in the nation to meet 100 percent of ACT's Certified Work Ready Communities criteria goals. Pettis County was one of 13 Missouri counties designated as "in-progress" communities, which means they are on track to achieve full certification within two years.
In a news release, Jasen Jones, executive director at the Southwest Missouri Workforce Investment Board, which serves Jasper and six additional counties, said strong relationships between Jasper County educators, chambers of commerce, nonprofit organizations and employers are creating opportunities for employers and workers.
"This Work Ready designation can truly help a community transform its economy and gain a competitive advantage in expanding existing businesses and attracting new businesses and jobs," Jones said in the release.
This is the track that Pettis County is on. Jo Ann Lane, business services representative with the Missouri Career Center and a member of the Pettis County Work Ready Steering Committee, said in January that as more local workers become certified, incoming companies will have a better assessment of the value of the work force.
"This will do nothing but help Pettis County," Lane told the Sedalia Area Chamber of Commerce. "It will help attract business and retain existing businesses."
We congratulate Jasper County and the Joplin area for setting the pace for the Certified Work Ready Communities initiative, and look forward to the day when Pettis County achieves that designation, giving our community and its workers greater opportunities for success.
___ (c)2013 The Sedalia Democrat (Sedalia, Mo.) Visit The Sedalia Democrat
(Sedalia, Mo.) at www.sedaliademocrat.com Distributed by MCT Information
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