Clinton County is currently seeking to become a Work Ready Community in Progress, an initiative of the Workforce Investment Board and Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, in hopes of providing qualifying communities a competitive advantage in attracting new businesses and jobs, as well as matching qualified employees with employers.

The initiative has been ongoing for several years and Clinton County is actually playing catch-up to the majority of counties in the Lake Cumberland Area Development District service area. According to Gerald McGaha with the LCADD, nine counties in the region, including all bordering counties of Russell, Wayne and Cumberland, have already gained the status.

Clinton, along with McCreary, Laurel and Rockcastle counties, are yet to become Work Ready Communities in Progress, but that may change early next year when the local application is submitted for review and consideration to the state.

Establishing a Work Ready Community in Progress is somewhat involved and complicated, taking in several components and most importantly, getting everyone–from school students, to individuals trying to improve the job search status, and business and industry all involved in the process.

The program urges as many high school age students and up to obtain a National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC), and encourages employers to recognize job applicants with that certificate as being qualified for employment in the area in which they are hiring for.

In order to qualify, communities must meet or create plans to meet certain thresholds in criteria such as graduation rates, NCR certificate holders and educational attainment rates. In addition, communities are required to bring various key agencies and employers together in the process.

The Clinton County Judge/Executive’s office is the lead entity in the process of applying to become a Work Force Community in Progress status and according to that office’s Administrative Assistant Penny Jo Stearns, she thinks Clinton County has a good chance of being approved by the state next year.

The group of people organizing the campaign have held a series of three meetings with school officials, business people and others, including officials with the LCADD which is assisting the county in the application process.

As far as being a Work Force Community in Progress helping a community, employers and potential employers who may consider the community as a location want to know about the workforce, and being certified answers many of their questions, indicating the community is serious about meeting their goals.

Stearns said a Letter of Intent to apply for the status was forwarded to the Workforce Development Cabinet this past spring and since then, support letters from businesses and organizations have been gathered and the school district is working on putting together a narrative, including a plan to bring the community into compliance with the criteria required to be approved.

The deadline to submit the application for Workforce Community in Progress status is December 15.

Once the application is submitted, the Work Ready Community Review Panel will review the data to verify accuracy. Based on this information, the committee will make a recommendation to the Kentucky Workforce Investment Board, which will have final approval granting Work Ready Community or Work Ready Community in Progress status. The process will vary in time depending on the timing of the application.

Steps in the process of putting the application together include organizing a local application committee; completing and submitting a Letter of Intent, gathering information, creating plans, completing required narratives, and gathering letters of commitment from businesses and other community organizations.

During the most recent meeting of the committee this past Monday afternoon, McGaha noted he only knew of a couple of circumstances where counties which applied for the “in progress” status were rejected.

A threshold that Clinton County will be working on improving and listing in its narrative is ways to improve the high school graduation rate. A Work Ready Community in Progress must present a plan to raise the rate to 88.9 percent within three years and to 98 percent by 2022.

It must also present a plan to reach nine percent of the working age population (18-64) holding NCRC’s within three years and 15 percent within five years.

The Clinton County School District is playing a major role in the program, as students as early as the sophomore year in high school may be eligible to obtain the NCRC, which is obtained by taking a test administered through the Adult Education program, according to Stearns.

Stearns is strongly in favor of Clinton County finally reaching the Work Ready Community in Progress status, saying it could help individuals who hold the certificates gain employment and helps businesses by being matched with qualified employees who are capable of handling the positions they are hired for. She added a lot of businesses have trouble keeping people who have initiative.

The application process is almost complete and there is quite a lot of support. Stearns said there were currently nine letters of support for the initiative and the school district and others were creating narratives to submit, including plans on improving in areas where the county is falling somewhat short.

Stearns expected that a decision by the Review Committee would be made in about 30 days after submission, with that being the first step in the process.

Stearns is still hoping for much more participation, however, saying that more businesses and organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce and others, were being recruited to get on board.

“This is an opportunity to have better employees for businesses and help secure jobs,” she said, not to mention helping attract new business and industry to the community with a more work ready workforce. Of all the entities involved, it can come together, she added.

A fourth and final meeting of the committee will be held next Tuesday, December 13 at 1 p.m. at the Clinton County Board of Education central office and Stearns is asking all business people, organizational leaders and others that are interested in making Clinton County a Work Ready Community in Progress to attend.