HGTC’s Work Ready program applies for $.5 million grant

In 2006, Governor Sonny Perdue and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce formed a partnership to develop a program designed to meet economic and workforce needs called the Georgia Work Ready Program. Heart of Georgia Technical College Work Ready/Continuing Education Coordinator, Amy Harrelson, recently applied for the Work Ready Region Grant of one-half million dollars that will serve the Heart of Georgia Manufacturing Region. If approved, the grant will benefit an eight county service region including Laurens, Dodge, Bleckley, Wilkinson, Wheeler, Telfair, Johnson, and Treutlen.
The grant, written following the Governor’s Strategic Plan for Workforce Development, is based on developing the workforce pipeline with the education community, engaging at-risk and out-of-school youth in education and workforce training, encouraging life-long learning as the solution to a changing work environment, removing barriers to work to ensure all Georgians are able to participate fully in the workforce, aligning workforce development with economic development, and developing and implementing an effective public awareness campaign.
Harrelson, who personally delivered the grant application to Atlanta, is already seeing success with the Work Ready program. Accuity Brands located in Cochran recently profiled jobs for the manufacturing firm, “Ms. Amy Harrelson worked with us to establish the Workready program for several job classifications within our facility. The professionalism she displayed gave our employees confidence in the assessments. The guidelines that were established will allow us to have some objective methods of assessing job applicants. The training available to those who fall short will allow those parties with the motivation, to improve their skills and should provide an increase in candidates who are capable of performing well,” according to Steve Odom of Accuity.
Harrelson completed training to become a Certified Job Profiler in 2007. The Profiler is available to any company presently hiring employees to evaluate positions. HGTC has been designed a Work Ready Assessment Center where job skills are tested. The profile is free of charge to the company or employee. If an individual scores below the set skill level required, internet based GAP training through Worldwide Interactive Network is available at no cost to increase that person’s employability and knowledge base.
Anyone interested in taking the Work Ready Assessment Test can contact Libby Lester at 478-274-7929 at HGTC.

Pictured: Dr. Randall Peters (taking test) and Ms. Libby Lester (administering test)