DeKalb Technical College and Rockdale County Partner for Certified Work Ready Community
Rockdale County has been selected as a demonstration county under the Governor’s Work Ready Initiative, and DeKalb Technical College (DTC) will serve as the service delivery provider for the project. “DeKalb Technical College’s initiatives in the Rockdale Community are already quite comprehensive and include collaborations with local industries and county government to provide workforce training and continuing education,” says DTC President Dr. Robin Hoffman. “We enthusiastically support Rockdale County’s efforts as a Work Ready Community and are pleased to work with the other partners.” The Work Ready effort enables Georgia’s communities to have a process to develop a documented workforce pipeline whose skill level can be matched to occupation or job profiles and to demonstrate their commitment to improving their high school graduation rates. “Work Ready is putting Georgia ahead of the pack in creating a talented workforce ready to succeed in the jobs of today and tomorrow,” said Governor Perdue. “By aligning education and training programs with the needs of business, we are making sure that Georgia is meeting hiring needs and delivering a competitive advantage.”
Georgia’s Work Ready program is comprised of a skills assessment and certification for job seekers and a job profiling system for businesses. By identifying both the needs of businesses and the available skills of Georgia’s workforce, the state can more effectively generate the right talent for the right job. To be designated as a Georgia Certified Work Ready Community, counties must demonstrate a commitment to improving high school graduation rates and show that graduates are entering the workforce and workers are obtaining certifications as Work Ready.
Glen Sears, Economic Development Director for Rockdale County, has been chosen as the County Team Leader. “DeKalb Technical College is a critical partner in this initiative and brings a multitude of positive factors to bear in our effort to establish “Work Ready” as a self-sustaining process in our community,” says Sears. The College performs job profiling for business and industry that elects to participate in this program and administers Work Keys assessment tests for the profiled jobs. Those individuals that take and pass the test will be certified as having the required knowledge and skills to quickly be trained for jobs at the levels they tested for. It also tells the potential employer that a person is certified through Work Keys assessment testing,” he continues.
The estimated length of time for a county to become work ready certified is 12 to 36 months. The anticipated length of time for a demonstration community, such as Rockdale County, to attain the goals to become certified is estimated to be six to 18 months. “DeKalb Technical College brings experience, know-how, business acumen, excellent staff, and multitude of programs on both the educational and business sides of this effort,” explains Team Leader Sears. “Simply said, if we did not have DeKalb Technical College and our strong partnership, it would be exceptionally difficult and expensive to implement the Work Ready Community Initiative in the Conyers-Rockdale community.”
Aside from DeKalb Technical College, other County Team Members include, but are not limited to, County Commission Chairman Roy Middlebrooks; City Mayor Randal Mills; Chamber of Commerce President Fred Boscarino; Board of Education President, Jeff Dugan; Local WIB Chairman and SDA, Randy Hayes and Randy Mills; DCA Regional Representative, Cynthia Easley; CDEc Regional Representative, Lindsay Martin; CEO Tim Melvin, Rockdale Career Academy; and representatives from United Way, Rockdale Coalition for Children and Families; and the Georgia Department of Labor. “At the heart of the Work Ready program is solid partnerships between Georgia’s businesses, education and local economic development professionals,” Governor Perdue said. “These community efforts are being led by chambers of commerce, technical colleges, development authorities and members of boards of education. Only by working together can we prepare for a more successful future.”
