Wayne earns NCWorks certification
By Steve Herring
Published in News on April 20, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
Dr. Kay Albertson, left, makes a point last Thursday as she talks about Wayne County being recognized as the first county in the state to be named a NCWorks Certified Work Ready Community. Seated behind her are Crystal Gettys, center, president of the Wayne County Development Alliance, and Dr. Sandra McCullen, Wayne County Public Schools superintendent.
Two years ago, Wayne County became the first county in the state to be named an NCWorks Certified Work Ready Community. The recognition came during the launch of the regional pilot program that recognized local efforts to improve workforce skills.
On Thursday morning, the county repeated that accomplishment, becoming the first county to receive the honor in what is now a statewide program.
Making both accomplishments even sweeter for local officials is that the state program traces its origin to workforce development projects that started in Wayne County.
County residents should be proud of what has been done to achieve the certification, said Crystal Gettys, president of the Wayne County Development Alliance.
"It gives me a couple of tools," she said. "One, it gives me a tool with our existing industry to let them know that we are hearing their needs, that we are addressing their needs, and we are being pro-active to overcome the challenges that they see in their future for their future workforce.
"It also give me a tool in recruiting new industry to Wayne County, not only for new jobs, but for better jobs."
Mrs. Gettys praised those who had been responsible for starting the process locally: Commissioner Bill Pate, who at the time was manager of the county Employment Security Commission office; Don Magoon of Wayne Community College; Steve Hicks, who at the time was president the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce; and Mike Haney, the Alliance's existing industry specialist.
The award was presented by Lew Ebert, president and CEO of the North Carolina Chamber, to commissioners before a packed room of education, civic and business leaders.
The NCWorks Certified Work Ready Community Initiative is a collaborative effort between workforce development partners, including the Office of the Governor, the North Carolina Chamber Foundation, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the North Carolina Community College System Office and the North Carolina Department of Commerce, aimed at leveraging data and analysis tools to continue economic growth in North Carolina.
The North Carolina Chamber Foundation serves as the final certifying body to designate a NC Works Certified Work Ready Community.
"In 2013 we received the regional Work Ready Community's award," said Diane Ivey, executive director of WORKS (Wayne Occupational Readiness Keys for Success) and the Wayne Business and Industry Center located at Wayne Community College. "That was the pilot initiative that got this NCWorks Certified Work Ready Community off the ground. That was the precursor of the statewide initiative, which we earned that certification today."
This pilot, modeled after the Wayne WORKS Initiative, was designed to set benchmarks for counties to improve the skills and marketability of their workforce and ultimately bring growth to the communities.
Wayne County, she said, is to be commended for talking about problems and finding creative solutions and not thinking that it is somebody else's job, but that it is everybody's job.
Wayne County commissioners have been very supportive as well, she said.
She also praised the efforts of Wayne County Public Schools and Wayne Community College.
"That is one thing that sets us apart from other counties," she said. "Companies always want to know a lot of things about communities, but the first thing that they want to know is what is the quality of our workforce. We have statistics that we can prove that we have a quality workforce that will meet their needs and that we are responsive to whatever their needs are," Mrs. Ivey said.
Wayne County is the first in the state to achieve 100 percent of its goals toward the NCWorks Certified Work Ready Community designation, she said.