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Baxter County is four employer sign-ups away from earning official ACT Work Ready Community status, the Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce said this week.
The designation, which the chamber has been pursuing alongside Arkansas State University-Mountain Home and the Mountain Home Public School District, certifies that a county’s workforce has measurable, verified skills aligned with employer needs through the ACT WorkKeys system.
Dani Pugsley, president of the chamber, made a renewed appeal to local employers in a message Monday, saying the county is closer than it has ever been to crossing the threshold.
There is no cost for businesses to sign up. Employers commit to recognizing or considering the WorkKeys credential, known as the National Career Readiness Certificate, in their hiring or workforce decisions. How they use it is left to the individual business.
The push comes as new numbers from Mountain Home Public Schools show a strong local pipeline of certified students. Of the 153 students who took the WorkKeys assessment this year, 92% earned an NCRC.
The breakdown included 24 platinum, 40 gold, 40 silver and 37 bronze certificates, according to district data shared by the chamber.
The WorkKeys assessment measures workplace skills in applied math, reading workplace documents and graphic literacy. Students earn tiered certificates based on their scores.
Pugsley said the short-term benefit for employers is faster, more informed hiring. The longer-term goal is positioning Baxter County as a workforce-ready community to attract new industry and retain local talent.
Employers can sign up at workreadycommunities.org/business/form. A list of participating Baxter County businesses is available at workreadycommunities.org/AR/005.
For more information, contact Pugsley at [email protected] or 870-425-5111.
