Gov. Sonny Perdue recently announced that Long County is one of 11 communities in Georgia to earn a Certified Work Ready designation.
According to a release from the governor’s office, a Work Ready status signifies a county has a skilled workforce to meet business demands and drive economic growth.
Coastal Workforce Board Chairman William Miller said the county’s Work Ready status will bring more business to the area and will increase state support for job lobbying.
Miller said the improved education system and increased high school graduation rate gave Long County an edge in the selection process.
“A big part of the reason that we made the list this time was because our schools have continued to make the AYP standards, our high school graduation rate increasing as much as it has and also our drop-out rate decreasing,” the chairman said.
During the three-year period in which the state evaluated the county for Work Ready status, Long County High School’s graduation rate improved from 59 percent in 2006 to more than 80 percent in 2009.
To become a Certified Work Ready community, counties must demonstrate a commitment to improving public high school graduation rates, and have a certain percentage of workers who have obtained Work Ready certificates.
According to information from the governor’s office, Long County has 141 certified workers, which exceeded the county’s goal by 26 percent.
Once a county is certified Work Ready, it must maintain the status by continuing to certify a percentage of the workforce. The high school graduation rate also must not fall below 75 percent. To maintain the status, each county receives a $10,000 grant.
The other counties that recently were certified as Work Ready are Candler, Harris, Habersham, Jackson, Paulding, Putnam, Talbot, Thomas, Twiggs and Walton counties.
According to a release from the governor’s office, a Work Ready status signifies a county has a skilled workforce to meet business demands and drive economic growth.
Coastal Workforce Board Chairman William Miller said the county’s Work Ready status will bring more business to the area and will increase state support for job lobbying.
Miller said the improved education system and increased high school graduation rate gave Long County an edge in the selection process.
“A big part of the reason that we made the list this time was because our schools have continued to make the AYP standards, our high school graduation rate increasing as much as it has and also our drop-out rate decreasing,” the chairman said.
During the three-year period in which the state evaluated the county for Work Ready status, Long County High School’s graduation rate improved from 59 percent in 2006 to more than 80 percent in 2009.
To become a Certified Work Ready community, counties must demonstrate a commitment to improving public high school graduation rates, and have a certain percentage of workers who have obtained Work Ready certificates.
According to information from the governor’s office, Long County has 141 certified workers, which exceeded the county’s goal by 26 percent.
Once a county is certified Work Ready, it must maintain the status by continuing to certify a percentage of the workforce. The high school graduation rate also must not fall below 75 percent. To maintain the status, each county receives a $10,000 grant.
The other counties that recently were certified as Work Ready are Candler, Harris, Habersham, Jackson, Paulding, Putnam, Talbot, Thomas, Twiggs and Walton counties.