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Liberty pushing for Work Ready status
LeahPoole
Leah Poole - photo by File photo
Benefits of becoming work ready certified?
•    Confidence that core skills and work habits meet the needs of local employers
•    Ranking above other job applicants lacking a Work Ready Certificate
•    Better understanding of employers’ requirements for job performance
•    Determining skill improvements and training opportunities
•    Realizing opportunities for career advancement and promotions
•    Demonstrating on your resume an understanding of the skills employers want
According to the Georgia Work Ready website.
After two years of preparation, Liberty County is making its final push to become a Georgia Work Ready certified county, according to interim Chamber of Commerce director Leah Poole.
Georgia Work Ready was launched in August 2006 by Gov. Sonny Perdue and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce to improve job training and marketability, according to the program’s website.
“The goal with this work force ready plan is to improve all levels of our workforce,” said Julie Gerbsch, Savannah Technical College business and industry training specialist. “This is a very specific, measurable way to prove the workforce readiness.”
Savannah Tech partnered with the Liberty Chamber to help bring Work Ready status to Liberty County.
This weekend, those in the private sector — privately employed individuals — may take the test to become work ready certified. The registration deadline for Saturday’s test is today. The test will be at Savannah Tech’s Liberty Campus
So far, 14 people have registered for private sector testing, Poole said.
The chamber’s goal was to have 73 certified through the private sector by the end of the year, but response from those employers/employees has been difficult because of scheduling issues, Poole said.
She said the public sector and high school participation, however, has been extremely responsive.
The four-hour test is for those who want to improve their chances of getting hired in the field of their choice, and with the certification it allows employers to see how much more training a potential employee may need.
Three sections are numerically scored — reading for information, applied math and locating information. Gerbsch said the reason those three skills are specifically tested is because some level of each is required in any job someone might apply for.
There is also a talent section, which does not get scored, and is based on communication skills and independent work patterns, Gerbsch said.
“Depending upon your score you will earn a silver, bronze or gold or platinum certificate,” she said.
A bronze certification means an employee can walk into 35 percent of the jobs across America, Gerbsch said. Silver certification means a 65 percent qualification and gold certification means a candidate is 90 percent qualified.
Platinum — the highest an employee can receive — is a 99 percent qualification rate.   
“Very few folks get that,” Gerbsch said.
The Liberty County School System is also working with the chamber of commerce to certify as many students as possible before graduation, said Lisa Eason, a work-based learning coordinator for the Liberty County School System.
The coordinator said the success of the program is undeniable.
“The first year that we gave the work ready exam at Bradwell Institute, a student scored high enough to get a job with SNF Chemtall right after he graduated,” she said.
Although testing is not mandatory, many high school students take the test to increase employment opportunities, Eason said.
“We’ve had a small handful of students who have chosen not to take it. (But) it ranges from your very top honors student to a special needs student,” she said.  “One of the benefits we try to stress to students is that it puts them above applicants and we also tell them it gives an employer a good opportunity to see their skills.”
Eason said that last year, most of the students received certification in the silver and gold range.  
Although the official announcement from the governor’s office won’t come until about 60 days after the county has met its requirement for testing residents in the private sector, officials are hopeful that after this weekend, the paperwork will be finalized to allow the program to become certified, Gerbsch said.
Only about 10 percent of test takers do not score high enough to receive a certificate. For those who wish to re-take the test, there is a 30 day waiting period requirement to allow the employee to study through the online materials offered by Georgia Work Ready.
Participants are only required to re-take the section they didn’t pass. 


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