From:  The Town Talk (www.thetowntalk.com)

The first two “work ready” parishes in Louisiana are Rapides and Avoyelles.

Both parishes have met all criteria to be certified as ACT Work Ready Communities — a program designed to help communities develop their workforce to meet employer demand. Rapides and Avoyelles were among the first 16 counties/parishes in the country to be accepted into the ACT pilot program.

To become certified, the parishes had to issue a certain number of National Career Readiness Certificates, which had already been done.

NCRC is a credential signifying someone possesses essential workplace skills in areas such as critical thinking and problem solving. Thousands of people in Central Louisiana have earned certificates since The Orchard Foundation started the Cenla Work Ready Network — a workforce development tool designed to match education and training efforts with regional economic needs.

The second part of certification involved the number of employers participating in the Cenla Work Ready Network.

According to the Work Ready Communities website (workreadycommunities.org), Rapides Parish has 82 participating employers (with a goal of 80) and Avoyelles has 43 (with a goal of 37).

The parishes now begin a two-year growth and maintenance phase to retain certification.

“An educated, hard-working and flexible workforce is the single most important factor in building prosperity in Central Louisiana,” said Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance President Jim Clinton. “Growing support in the region for the Cenla Work Ready Network is an indicator of how committed our leadership is to building a stronger, smarter future. On an individual level, the ability to have a portable credential that certifies one’s capabilities is a key ingredient in personal success.”