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Baxter County has been certified as an ACT Work Ready Community, the result of a roughly two-year effort led by the Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce.
Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dani Pugsley and Becca Camp of the Mountain Home Public School District accepted the award at ACT’s national summit last week.
The designation certifies that a county’s workforce has measurable, verified skills aligned with employer needs. It is built on the ACT WorkKeys system and the National Career Readiness Certificate, or NCRC, that job seekers earn by passing the WorkKeys assessment.
The Chamber began the effort in 2024 alongside Arkansas State University-Mountain Home and the school district. Local employers were asked to sign on at no cost, with each business deciding whether to require the credential in hiring or count it as a plus.
As recently as the spring, the Chamber said Baxter County was four employers short of the threshold. That gap has since closed.
District figures showed 153 students took the WorkKeys assessment during the most recent year, and 92 percent earned an NCRC, including 24 platinum, 40 gold, 40 silver and 37 bronze certificates.
The WorkKeys assessment measures workplace skills in applied math, reading workplace documents and graphic literacy. Test takers earn tiered certificates based on their scores.
The Chamber has said the designation gives employers a clearer read on applicant skills and is intended to market Baxter County to new industry while keeping local workers in the area.
