Georgia Northwestern Technical Collage Associate Vice President of Economic Development, Al Hutchison, was part of a presentation at the Chattooga County Chamber of Commerce Luncheon earlier this month which showed the impact of the Georgia Work Ready Program of which Georgia Northwestern Technical College is a participant; as well as the success of Chattooga County in this process. 

Chattooga County is now the 12th of 139 Georgia counties to become “certified work ready.” “The county was awarded a $10,000 check to help them maintain their work ready assessment numbers,” said Hutchison. “Counties who are deemed to be certified work ready must maintain at least 25 percent of the former goals to keep that annual status.”

According to Hutchison, Certified Work Ready Communities have the skilled workforce that business demands and the educational infrastructure to drive economic growth and prosperity. To earn the designation, counties must demonstrate a commitment to improving public high school graduation rates through a measurable increase and show a specified percentage of the available and current workforce have earned Work Ready Certificates.