OSWEGO COUNTY – Oswego County is celebrating its status as the first certified “work ready community” in the Northeast! The public is invited to a ribbon-cutting event on Tuesday, Oct. 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. at CiTi BOCES, 179 Co. Rte. 64 in Mexico.
“The best way I can think of to tell the world that Oswego County is ‘ready for business’ is to become the first certified ‘work ready community’ in the Northeast,” said Oswego County Legislator Roy E. Reehil, District 5.
Reehil led the effort towards gaining the designation for the county starting in 2016. In February, Oswego County earned the certification of a Work Ready Community through ACT WorkKeys. This prominent workforce development designation was earned through the hundreds of National Career Readiness Credentials (NCRC) earned by area students and individuals within the community.
The NCRC is a portable, industry-recognized credential that clearly identifies an individual’s skills in workplace documents, applied math and graphic literacy through standardized assessments.
“With so much regional business growth in the pipeline, the implementation of the NCRC for businesses in hiring, and for students – college-bound or not – will become obvious almost immediately,” Reehil continued. “Other counties across the Northeast are already looking to follow Oswego County’s lead, but I’m proud to say, we will always be the first!”
Being a “work ready community” will bring systemic change to Oswego County, providing the opportunity to close the large skill and work readiness gap that exists, especially among historically disadvantaged populations. The process of expanding WorkKeys and the NCRC focuses on aligning education, workforce development and economic development strategies for Oswego County.
As the first “work ready community” in New York State, and the entire Northeastern United States, Oswego County has positioned itself to provide opportunities for the existing labor force and emerging workforce to grow with the unprecedented economic boom on the horizon for the Central New York region.
The event features numerous speakers to highlight the momentous accomplishment, including a regional representative from ACT. Attendees will also have the opportunity to schedule their own ACT WorkKeys assessment.
To register, click bit.ly/3B53WuD by Tuesday, Oct. 22.
For more information, contact Oswego County Workforce New York at 315-591-9000 or [email protected].
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