Georgia Work Ready Initiative Jo Ann Berry Deputy Director, External Affairs September 9, 2011 Jo Ann Berry Deputy Director, External Affairs September 9, 2011

1 Governor’s vision We need a workforce development system that links workforce development and education together and aligns to the economic needs of the state, its regions and local communities” - Governor Sonny Perdue Feb. 20, 2006

Governance  Workforce Investment Act of 1998  HB 1195 signed into law 2010 (SWIB)  Executive Order dated February 2,

GOWD Organizational Chart 3 Core: Job Seekers & WRC

Establish local partnerships…  County based teams –Local leaders – county and municipal –Technical College and Adult Education –Local School Board(s) –Local Workforce Investment Boards –GDOL regional reps –Chamber of Commerce –GDEcD representative –Local businesses –High School Graduation Coaches –Others 4

Established Statewide Partnership… 5

How it works: Certified Work Ready Community

7 How communities earn certification  Specified percent of county residents successfully attain Work Ready Certification (S-3%/25%)(M-2%/20%)(L-1%/15%) (XL-.5%/5%) –percentage of existing workforce ( private/gov. ) –percentage of available workforce ( C, U, GED, HS )  Public high school graduation rate increase –Determine how many additional students must graduate each year to achieve goal for the community –Target at-risk students who, with intervention, will be able to graduate –Use high school graduation coaches to identify these students and support them  Demonstrate county-wide commitment to earning certification

How to accomplish goals  CWRC teams hold community meetings  GOWD conducts monthly conference calls and quarterly face to face meetings  Sharing of best practices  Assign responsibility and hold team members accountable  Celebrate county milestones and talk about success in order to build support 8

9 104 CWRCs 4 RCWRCs 7 HSGR 45 In-Progress 3 NP Certified Work Ready Communities

10 Work Ready Regions  Regional industry-clusters to develop Georgia’s talent pools aligned to strategic industry  Build upon Certified Work Ready Communities  Economic asset mapping to determine actual regions (22) –# companies –Commuting pattern –Assets (colleges w/ training, innovation centers

Identifying Critical Workforce Needs: The Work Ready Certificate (NCRC)

12 The gold standard in skills testing

SKILL AREAS  Reading for Information  Applied Mathematics  Locating Information  Applied Technology  Teamwork  Observation  Listening  Writing  Business Writing ** 85% of ALL occupations utilize these skills

14 Georgia Work Ready Certificate  Three assessments –Applied mathematics –Reading for information –Locating information  Issue Certificate based on lowest level earned 3s and above 3s and above Bronze Bronze 4s and above 4s and above Silver Silver 5s and above 5s and above Gold Gold WorkKeys Scores Certificate 6s and above 6s and above Platinum Platinum

15 Work Ready Certificate  More than 240,000 Work Ready Certificates earned  Show of skills  Work Habits (Talent) available at assessment centers Goal: 100,000 Georgians earn a Work Ready Certificate every year

How it works: Work Ready Job Profiling

GWR job profiles  A job analysis tool developed by ACT that helps employers understand what skills are required for a specific position (critical need)  Profiling sessions rely on job incumbents as subject matter experts (SMEs)  A final report to management contains complete task analysis information and skill recommendations 17

Matching WRC to job requirements  Customized job profile helps employers use Work Ready assessment and certificate information to match employees with positions based on foundational skill requirements  Sample certificate levels: –Aircraft structure assemblers, precision – Gold –Home health aides – Bronze –Pharmacy technician – Gold –Truck driver – Silver  Companies throughout Georgia have profiled more than 341 jobs and many more are in the pipeline 18

19 How job profiles help the bottom line  When used as an HR tool in tandem with Work Ready Assessments, employers report that a job profile can: –Reduce cost to hire and time to hire –Improve training time and cost –Reduce employee turnover –Increase productivity and reduces waste  In addition to pre-screening and hiring, many employers use job profiles to develop and promote their existing workforce and for: –Allocating internal training budgets –Hourly worker succession planning

20 Service delivery The Technical College System of Georgia supports Work Ready via their economic development offices. The technical colleges administer assessments, provide gap training and offer job profiling services

21 Common language Business Job Seekers Education Work Ready Certificate can become a common language between business and education Mutual understanding of workforce needs through communication!

USG Questions 22

USG Questions  WR impact on Georgia employment: 23

Vision for Work Ready  Continuation of original vision  Added initiatives –Soft Skills  New director – direction TBD – the past?  Technical certificate – technical college  USG involvement potential –ideas on how?  Two-year USG institutions ≠ technical colleges –WR potential 24

Benefits to Job Seekers  Showcase level of applied skill to employers.  A supplement/ enhancement for tools already at job seekers’ disposal. ─Interviews, work history, resumes, references, etc.  Through Skills Gap training, level of applied skill can be improved. 25

26 Skills gap training – targets for instruction Gap analysis shows how the person performed relativeto the “bar.” Reflects the skills required according to the job profile Reflects the job seeker’s certification level

Certified Work Ready resources

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29 Work Ready was developed to make Georgia’s workforce our number one competitive advantage to support and grow existing industry and to attract new industry

Questions?  Contact Jo Ann Berry at or 404-  Direct companies to our website: Please help us get the word out about Georgia Work Ready among businesses in your community!