Certified Work Ready Community Recertification and Sustainability

1. Certified Work Ready Community Recertification and Sustainability Fred R. McConnel Work Ready community Manager February 3, 2010

3. In order to sustain and institutionalize Georgia Work Ready, a post-certification plan will be put in place to sustain a successful county’s Work Ready Community team. Including: • providing grant funding for Work Ready Community teams to continue to encourage their available workforce to earn Work Ready Certificates • maintain or increase their high school graduation rates • strengthen the initiative through greater ties with the local chambers, • encourage businesses to solidify their support in recognizing and using Georgia Work Ready.

4. CWRC Recertification Sign Up • Once a county reaches their WRC and HSGR goals they will have until the second Recertification start date to identify a fiscal agent and return grant paperwork to GOWD • Recertification start dates occur every April and September • Fiscal Agent must be county based organization (i.e. chamber, county commission, development authority etc.)

5. CWRC Recertification Grant • The CWRC Team that formed to accomplish the community goals will be provided a local chamber membership for two years. • This will strengthen the public-private partnership with the business community and begin the process of sustaining Georgia Work Ready at the county level. • CWRC Team must sign up as member • GOWD will not pay dues for different organizations the team members may be employed by.

6. CWRC Recertification Grant • The CWRC team will be awarded an outreach material budget that may be expended to purchase support materials through GOWD. • Every CWRC will receive a $2,000 credit line for two years at the online Work Ready Store • This will further institutionalize the Georgia Work Ready brand; provide consistency in outreach materials and message and reduced cost in developing and printing materials.

7. CWRC Recertification Grant • The CWRC Team will receive a $10,000.00 grant to continue CWRC efforts. Counties can expend funds on: • Staffing and administration expenses to support Work Ready efforts or team functions • Work Ready Meeting support • Work Ready outreach efforts with business community • Efforts to increase HSGR (approved by local High School Graduation Coach) • Incentives for earning Work Ready Certificates

8. CWRC Recertification Grant • Road signs: Counties will receive a number of road signs (based on county size) to inform the community of their Certified Work Ready Community (CWRC) status. • GOWD will pay for sign creation and installation • CWRC team will need to work with local DOT to determine location of signs • Additional signs may be purchased through GOWD using grant funds • Counties also receive a CWRC Recertification Kit

12. CWRC Recertification Criteria • Once the county attains Certified Work Ready Community status, the counties will be required to meet new criteria within a two year period to maintain the certification. • Counties will be encouraged to voluntarily change CWRC Team leadership during transition to recertification status

13. CWRC Recertification Criteria • Re-certification criteria to be completed within two years: • Maintain HSGR if at 75% or increase step level if below 75% • Set county available workforce Work Ready Certificate goals at 1/3 of initial criteria • Private and Government sector will not have set goals in recertification process

14. CWRC Recertification Criteria • Secure county business support for Georgia Work Ready – such as a certain number of county businesses recognize, prefer or require Work Ready Certificates as a part of their hiring process  • Small – 5 businesses sign up to recognize, and 1 profile • Medium – 10 businesses sign up to recognize, and 2 profiles • Large – 15 businesses sign up to recognize, and 3 profiles • Very Large – 20 businesses sign up to recognize, and 4 profiles •  Business Recognition form can be found on CWRC WIKI page

15. CWRC Grant (met certificate goals only) • Counties that have met their WRC goals but are awaiting HSGR goals will be recognized in the Governor’s Press Release and on the CWRC Map • These counties will also receive the $10,000 grant to continue CWRC efforts • These counties must spend 70% of funds on helping HSGR or HSG Coaches • Counties also have the option of working through GOWD to have a Gap Analysis performed by the GaDOE • Counties will be certified once HSGR goals are met

16. Intervention Certification Plan • As Georgia’s Counties work toward certification some counties will not reach their certification goals with in the CWRC timeline. These counties will begin the Intervention Certification Plan that will allow them to continue their efforts towards certification. Counties can fail to reach certification by not completing one or both of the CWRC Criteria: Certificate or HSGR goals.

17. Intervention Certification Plan • Failure to meet certificate goals: • County must submit action plan to the GOWD within one month of being notified of failure to reach certificate goals. The action plan must describe in detail steps that the CWRC Team will make in order to reach remaining certificate goals. • The county must successfully attain remaining certificate goals within 6 months of submittal of action plan to the GOWD. • Failure to meet goals outlined in action plan will result in the county restarting the certification process with new teams and letter of intent.

18. Intervention Certification Plan • Failure to meet HSGR goals: • County must submit action plan detailing current efforts by the community and the WR Team to increase county HSGR. • County must continue to earn 1/3 of initial certificate criteria as described in Post Certification Plan until next report of county HSGR is released. • Failure to meet both CWRC Criteria goals will require the county to complete all steps of the above Intervention Plans. • Upon the county’s successful completion of the Intervention Certification Plan they will be recognized as a Certified Work Ready Community and will continue their Work Ready efforts under the Post Certification Plan.