Jackson County will be among the next Georgia counties to be designated as Work Ready under a federal program of the same name.
That designation by Gov. Sonny Perdue, which has economic development implications for the county, has been delayed by an unexpectedly slow verification of numbers of Jackson County residents to receive Work Ready certification after taking exams.
“We needed to have 652 tested,” chamber president Shane Short reported to his board of directors last Friday. “The report finally came in. We are at 719.”
Short praised Howard Ledford, the chamber director heading up the effort. Ledford is coordinator of instruction at the Commerce campus of Lanier Technical College.
“We owe Howard a real sense of gratitude,” Short said, adding that official word that the county is “a certified Work Ready Community” is expected this week.
Gina Mitsdarffer, chairman of the chamber board, pointed out that a lot of other communities that sought or are seeking the same status have full-time staff working toward it.
The Work Ready program certifies employees at platinum, gold, silver and bronze levels as a means of demonstrating their abilities. Of the 719 people tested, six ranked at the platinum level, 183 at the gold level, 409 at the silver level and 121 earned bronze status.
A second facet of the Work Ready Certification is job profiling. Thousands of jobs have been profiled across the nation and internationally. An employer can know for certain what kinds of skills are needed for a specific job(s) in their business then hire an employee with the necessary Work Ready skills. Jobs are different and people have different skills. A job that has been Work Ready profiled will let the employer know what skills are needed just like a Work Ready Certificate will inform the potential employer what Work Ready skills you have.
That is the third facet of Work Ready – the individual. Everyone is different. It is important to have strong work ethics--go to work every day, be on time, do what is expected of you, get along in the work place and more. It is also important to make sure you have the skills to do the work you have been hired to do. You want to be happy and you want your employer to be satisfied with your work. If you are hired to do a job you would like but do not have the skills to do the task you will not be successful. Work Ready assessment helps you identify the skills you have.
Work Ready Certification will let business and industry know that Georgia and more specific Jackson County has an identified work force. This will bring jobs to our area.
Work Ready Certification will inform the employer about the skills needed in order to hire an experienced and qualified employee for the job.
Work Ready Certification will identify your work skills and help you inform a potential employer about your work skills.
It is important to become Work Ready.