Crittenden County is moving closer towards achieving Work Ready certification.
Marion City Administrator Mark Bryant says local government and economic representatives met with members of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet this week, which approved the county to enter “Certified Work Ready In-Progress” status.
Full certification is given to counties that demonstrate a commitment to providing a skilled workforce to potential investors. And Bryant says it gives counties a competitive economic edge.
“It puts you on that Work Ready Map," said Bryant. "The state will give us signs that you can post as you enter into Crittenden County or Marion that say we’re a Work Ready in Progress community, potentially show people who are looking to locate businesses here that hey we are working towards making sure you’ve got a labor pool that you can draw from that has actually got the knowledge and the skills available.”
Bryant says the county now has three years to meet the necessary requirements, including increasing the number of associate degrees and other education and training benchmarks, to achieve full certification.
11 other counties in our area are Work Ready In-Progress, and 8 have already been fully certified Work Ready.