Our Work Ready Community

What Work Ready means for Cabarrus

By participating in the ACT® Work Ready Communities [WRC] initiative, Cabarrus can identify skill gaps and quantify the skill level of their workforce. This helps educators build career pathways aligned to the needs of business and industry -- and it also helps a community stand out and be recognized for its workforce development efforts. A strong workforce is a tremendous economic development advantage.

By participating in ACT’s® Work Ready Communities initiative, Cabarrus is helping:

• 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

The deadline for Cabarrus County to achieve ACT Work Ready Community status is August 25, 2019. Complete the Employer Listing Registration Form Today.

Hire the best applicants

The ACT® WorkKeys® National Career Readiness Certificate® (ACT® WorkKeys® NCRC®) is an assessment-based credential issued at four levels. The NCRC measures and certifies the essential work skills needed for success in jobs across industries and occupations.

When you require or recommend the WorkKeys NCRC from your applicants, you’ll tap into the most qualified labor pool in your area.

This credential is used across all sectors of the economy and verifies the following cognitive skills:

• Problem solving
• Critical thinking
• Reading and using work-related text
• Applying information from workplace documents to solve problems
• Setting up and performing work-related math calculations

Cabarrus needs employer support

Employers are supporting ACT Work Ready Communities by recognizing the ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate as a measure of foundational workplace skills. By publicly supporting ACT Work Ready Communities, these employers are helping their counties build a strong workforce development initiative and attain the ACT Work Ready Communities status.

Option 1: Recognize

Employer awareness of the potential value of the ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate as an indicator of workplace skills in hiring and/or promotion practices.

Select organizations may be interested in Option 2 (the Recommend option). The Option 2 commitment is above-and-beyond our goals and not related to our ask.

Join the Employer Listing Registration by August 25, 2019

By recognizing the ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate by August 25, 2019, employers are embracing a common language around workforce skill requirements. This crucial part of the Work Ready Communities effort is a measure of business engagement. Cabarrus County calls on local businesses to join this list. In just one step that takes less than 10 minutes, your business can show support of the Readiness Certificate and Cabarrus' skilled workforce.

‍If your business recognizes the ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness certificate in your county's effort to become a Work Ready Community, follow this link and indicate your support.

What employers need to provide:

• Employer name
• Contact information
• Industry cluster
• Number of employees
• Address
• County located

Indicate that your business supports the ACT WorkKeys NCRC by selecting Recognize (Feel that WorkKeys is a good indicator of workforce skills.)