Representatives from several Washington County groups will attend a November boot camp to prepare for the county becoming an ACT Work Ready Community.
ACT Work Ready involves a national WorkKeys career-readiness assessment people can take to help make employers aware of their skill set. It focuses on three areas: applied math, workplace documents and graphic literacy.
For each of the three skill areas, people could achieve the bronze, silver, gold or platinum level. The lowest level they reach in one area will become their overall score level, said Theresa Shank, HCC’s dean for continuing education and workforce development.
Participants receive a national readiness certificate they can share with potential employers to show they are work-ready. They also can provide potential employers with their certification number so the employer can see how the person scored in each skill area.
The community will eventually have a job profiler who works with local companies to match WorkKeys skill levels with job descriptions and openings to help match people with jobs, Shank said. Some require only a certain skill level, so platinum or gold isn’t necessary for every job.
The third aspect is curriculum that HCC’s adult literacy program could have available as soon as the spring semester to help people improve their skills to be career-ready.
There are more Work Ready Communities in the South, where manufacturers and other large companies have recognized the value of the certificate program.
The boot camp is the start of what is expected to be a yearlong process as community partners learn about the program and achieve specific tasks and benchmarks, Shank said. They need to learn more about how the program works, how to work together for a Work Ready Community and how to promote the program.
For instance, Washington County Public Schools must learn how to use the career-readiness assessment to prepare students for careers, Shank said.
Participating in the Nov. 7-8 boot camp in Little Rock, Ark., will be representatives from WCPS, the Washington County Department of Business Development, Western Maryland Consortium, Washington County Chamber of Commerce, Washington County Free Library, Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, HCC and possibly some local businesses.
HCC has the assessment tool, which a couple local employers are already using for screening. Employers interested in using the assessment may call Shank at 240-500-2476.