ARKADELPHIA, AR, May 12, 2025: The Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance and Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce that Clark County, Arkansas, has officially met all criteria to become a certified ACT Work Ready Community. This designation follows a dedicated multi-year engagement process and launches a two-year growth and maintenance phase to retain certification.
The ACT Work Ready Communities initiative is designed to assist a particular area, region or state in developing its workforce pipeline to provide skilled workers for employers. The framework allows each participating community to quantify and improve the skill levels of its workforce through a standardized workforce skill credential—the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate™—supported by data updated online by Iowa-based ACT monthly.
“Workforce development is one of the most important investments a community can make in its future,” said Shelley Short, President & CEO of the Arkadelphia Alliance and Area Chamber of Commerce. “This certification demonstrates that Clark County is not only prepared to meet the demands of today’s job market but is also deeply committed to building a strong, skilled workforce for the future. We are especially grateful to Henderson State University for its partnership in this effort, along with our employers, community partners, and other local educators who helped make this achievement possible.”
To achieve certification, Clark County leaders participated in the ACT Work Ready Communities Academy, a training program hosted by ACT that equips communities with the tools to implement and sustain the WRC framework. Throughout the process, Clark County stakeholders, including business leaders, educators, and public officials, worked collaboratively to meet rigorous goals around NCRC issuance and employer engagement.
“We congratulate Clark County for this significant achievement, and we are proud to add them to our growing list of certified ACT Work Ready Communities,” said Fred McConnel, ACT’s Director of Workforce Development. “The progressive thinking and positive action demonstrated by county leadership shows an enduring commitment to growing the economic success of the area. As a result, local residents will begin seeing the important linkage between education and workforce development and the value of matching people to jobs.”
The common building blocks of the initiative include:
- ACT WorkKeys® assessments: Standardized tests that measure an individual’s essential work readiness skills in applied mathematics, reading for information and locating information. According to decades of ACT research, these foundational skills are essential for a majority of today’s jobs.
- ACT National Career Readiness Certificate: A national credential based on assessment results and issued at the bronze, silver, gold or platinum level to indicate career readiness.
- ACT Career Curriculum: ACT KeyTrain® and ACT Soft Skills Suite training tools to help individuals improve their “hard” and “soft” skill levels, as well as ACT Career Ready 101™ to help teachers bring work readiness skills into the classroom.
- Job profiles: A job analysis system that helps employers understand the specific ACT WorkKeys assessment scores required for entry into and effective performance in a given job.
For more information on this initiative, go to workreadycommunities.org. For more information on all of ACT’s workforce solutions, go to act.org/workforce.
