Pieces are coming together to empower the regional workforce.
In a joint-press conference held at the First Tennessee Development office in Johnson City Monday, eight counties, including Carter, were announced as part of a regional initiative to become ACT Certified Work Ready Communities (CWRC).
The counties taking part in the initiative includes Carter, Washington, Johnson, Hancock, Hamblen, Sullivan, Greene and Unicoi. Each of the counties’ mayors, along with business leaders and agencies, were on hand Monday to announce the news.
Being considered as CWRC allows the counties to bulk up their workforce by implementing a National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC), which can be obtained by students or workers. The certificates gauges individuals’ qualifications in math, reading, locating information and other suitable qualities that employers look for, according to
Washington County Mayor Dan Eldridge.
Scores on the NCRC are categorized in four categories: bronze, silver, gold and platinum. The Washington County mayor added that at the time of application, only seven of 95 counties in the state were work-ready certified and only 14 counties were participating in the certification process.
“Now that we’ve been accepted, we will be attending four different academies offered by ACT,” Eldridge said, adding that each county would be working on ways to implement the program and recruiting business to take part of the initiative.
Obtaining the NCRC will be target at three demographics: emerging workers coming out of school, transitional workers that are unemployed and individuals that already have already obtained a certificate.
“Businesses and all of our region will benefit from this initiative,” said Carter County Mayor Leon Humphrey, who was one of the various speakers on hand for the press conference. “We know when potential businesses look at northeast Tennessee, they look at us on a more regional basis. We hear from people all the time moving into the area that they appreciate that our region had much to offer as they look for things to do and places to visit across the entire area. Something as significant as working toward being work ready certified takes partnership and collaboration.”
Humphrey recognized the various entities from around the region that are assisting with the endeavors, including Carter County Schools Superintendent Dr. Kevin Ward and Elizabethton City Schools Superintendent Dr. Corey Gardenhour.
“I’d like to thank all of you for your commitment to this process,” Humphrey added.
Sullivan County has already attended each of the ACT categories and is working toward the goals that ACT has set. Being a year into the process, Mayor Richard Venable stressed the importance of Monday’s meeting by stating various employers take the NCRC into consideration during the interview process.
“Eastman has various entry-level jobs now that require an NCRC for you to apply for that particular job,” Venable said. “There are companies all around the country that have done like Eastman has. Other businesses recognize the NCRS and give interview preferences with this certification. As we look at particular initiatives … I saw ACT Work Ready Communities as something that can benefit us all. Each and every county in northeast Tennessee will benefit from their participation in this program.”
“Citizens in our counties commute between counties everyday as part of business,” Venable added. “Giving all our citizens an opportunity to obtain an NCRS certification elevates the entire region. We know the need to have a qualifiedworkforce spans across our region.”
Venable also discussed a meeting that recently occurred between International Paper Company Chairman Mark Sutton and Gov. Bill Haslam that highlight the importance of being a work-ready community. “Sutton stressed that a big challenge the company faces is finding skilled workers for the jobs the company faces,” Venable said. “The potential of shortage of skilled labor is an issue for the future as 50 percent of their employees are retirement eligible in the next 10 years. I suspect that applies to northeast Tennessee as a whole.”
At the conclusion of the meeting, Lottie Ryans with the First Tennessee Development District stated that the next step for the core team of mayors and businesses from the region is to attend the upcoming ACT Academy, scheduled for October 12-13 in Atlanta, Ga.