The Golden Triangle Early Workforce Initiative is seeing an increase in positive results in its second year, according to Golden Triangle Development LINK officials.
This year, 273 high school juniors from across the region took the ACT WorkKeys test. Of those, 153 students earned the ACT’s National Career Readiness Certificate. Last year, 124 students took the test, and 84 earned the certificate.
“We’re thrilled with the numbers in our second year,” said LINK Vice President of Internal and External Affairs Macaulay Whitaker. “It shows how invested these schools are in providing real, meaningful opportunities for their students’ futures. Overall, we’ve facilitated 239 students earning a nationally recognized credential that will propel them into the workforce.”
WorkKeys, a job skills assessment designed by the makers of the ACT college entrance exam, categorizes scores in bronze, silver, gold, and platinum tiers. Employers in the Golden Triangle often use the test to measure trainability and other skill sets. Whitaker said a test-taker must earn at least silver on the test to qualify for the Career Readiness Certificate.
The WorkKeys testing program for local schools is part of the LINK’s Early Workforce Initiative, which is a component of the LINK’s efforts to improve workforce development in the region.
The test is open to students from any high school, public or private, in the Golden Triangle. The LINK provides $5,000 to schools to subsidize students’ testing fees. She said East Mississippi Community College provides staff, training materials, testing space and support for teacher and counselors to work with students.
Whitaker said schools can use the money to fully subsidize the test for students. Last year, the LINK paid for half of the test. LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins said the LINK adjusted after getting community feedback.
“We listened to feedback from our schools and community during the first year and committed that this test should be provided to students for free,” Higgins said. “We hope that one day it will be given to all graduating seniors, just like the ACT.”
Students from Columbus High School, Caledonia High School, New Hope High School, West Point High School, West Lowndes High School and Columbus Christian School took the WorkKeys test this year. Whitaker said no Starkville High School students took the test but the LINK is working with the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District to implement testing.
West Point High School had the most students take the test, with 90 taking it and 49 earning the Career Readiness Certificate.
WorkKeys importance
Last year, Higgins said WorkKeys testing data was some of the most sought-after information businesses requested from the LINK. Whitaker said that still holds true.
“We still get requests for WorkKeys data from prospective industries that are looking to locate in the Golden Triangle. That is in part what motivated us to make a more concerted effort to provide WorkKeys testing as an option in the Golden Triangle and specifically for high school students.”
EMCC Vice President for Manufacturing Technology and Engineering Raj Shaunak said the program is important, especially as the local industrial base continues to grow.
“With the economic growth in the manufacturing sector in the Golden Triangle, there are many manufacturing jobs for residents in the community,” Shaunak said. “As growth continues in the Golden Triangle, by working with economic developers like the LINK, EMCC is involved in providing skills training for area high school students.”
Shaunak said the hope is that students will learn about, and ultimately embark down career pathways that will lead to employment with local employers.
Whitaker said the Early Workforce Initiative would hopefully enlighten students on the job opportunities available in the Golden Triangle.
“We know there’s a plethora of jobs here through the industrial sector,” she said. “We want students to know they can have meaningful and profitable careers here.”
Whitaker said the LINK hopes to one day have 500 students take the test each year, with at least 70 percent earning silver or better. She said the LINK is continuing to adjust as it learns what works best for schools and students. Next year, the test will likely be offered for high school seniors, to lighten the testing load on juniors.
“WE have identified that seniors might be better equipped, and that’s not because of the courses they take,” she said. “There are far less state-required tests in the senior year, where juniors have three. We think that from here on out, the test will be offered for seniors.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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