The Marion County Development Partnership has officially launched the ACT Work Ready program.
The kickoff took place Friday morning at the Community Room in the Marion County BusinessPlex during MCDP’s Catchy Friday.
The goal is to become an ACT Work Ready Community, which officials say will attract businesses and industries to Marion County.
The program is designed to work with educators, individuals and businesses to determine, skills and skill gaps and areas needed for growth to make Marion County a greater source for businesses, jobs and individuals.
“I envision Columbia to be the best city in the Southern region,” MCDP President Lori Watts said.
Through the program, employers are able to pinpoint the skills needed that will help in finding the perfect candidate on the first try.
To help determine the skill level a person has, they first take the ACT Work Ready Key Assessment. The exam focuses on applied math, graphic literacy and workplace documents. The test will show the employee’s skills, what they can do and areas in which growth is needed.
From this economic developers compete on the proven workforce value. It goes farther than saying we have good hard workers in the county, according to Watts, but shows Marion County has skilled workers that can support businesses and industries coming to town.
Unlike the ACT test, which students take to enter college, this assessment directly measures work skills. Adults can take the exam at Pearl River Community College, the WIN Job Center or the South Mississippi Planning and Development District for free. Students can also take the assessments at these locations for $33. Both the Columbia School District and the Marion County School District will be offering some testing for free through the schools.
The Marion County ACT Work Ready Team consists of Watts; Terri Clark, director of adult education services at PRCC; Rebecca Entrekin, adult education department at PRCC; Deloris Butler, WIN Job Center case manager at PRCC; Emlyn Jackson, Economic Development Workforce Manager at SMPDD; Jan Sears, director of the Carl Loftin Career and Technology Center; Calvin Newsom, District 5 Supervisor; Teresa Terrell, director of WIN Job Center in Columbia and Jason Harris, superintendent of the Columbia School District.
For more information, visit www.workreadycommunities.org.
Pictured Above: Lori Watts of the Marion County Development Partnership discusses the ACT Work Ready program, which measures local workers’ skill levels, during Catchy Friday at the Marion County Businessplex. | Photo by Susan Amundson
