1. Sara Brown Russell County Adult Education

2. NCRC GOAL Russell County was the first county to reach the 15% goal of the workforce age population to obtain an NCRC Russell County also the first county to reach the 15% goal with gold and silver certificates

3. Obtaining NCRC Goal NCRC widely promoted and information made available to the public Used the radio as means for advertisements; ads promoted the NCRC and informed the public of how it could benefit them NCRC promoted extensively at WIA board meetings, Chamber of Commerce meetings, and Industrial Authority Board meetings. Members of organizations recognized the benefit of the NCRC, began promoting it as well.

4. Obtaining NCRC Goal Collaboration & cooperation with businesses in the community vital to success Met with businesses and business leaders in the community to discuss what NCRC was, how it could benefit them, and how it would help them ensure they are getting a good and qualified worker Willingness on part of businesses to give special consideration to those holding the NCRC

5. Obtaining NCRC Goal Willingness of potential employees to further their knowledge and be competitive for available jobs in the community Held Work Ready trainings Equipped potential employees with knowledge of the NCRC, how it could benefit them, and the fact it is recognized nationally and that local businesses knew what it was and liked to see it on a resume and application

6. Obtaining NCRC Goal Work Ready Trainings Intense instruction to prepare potential employees to take the NCRC Math instruction, how it relates to the workplace Focus on interpreting materials such as manuals and graphs in the workplace Allowed to re-take parts of the test at a later date that were not passed Instructors very encouraging and motivating; provide support to potential employees

7. Obtaining NCRC Goal Work Ready Trainings Once training and NCRC test completed, potential employees given opportunity to be interviewed by participating businesses in the community Provided an incentive for potential employees to complete the training Helped businesses identify employees with the available skills they were looking for to hire Potential employees guaranteed an interview, but was not guaranteed a job, helped potential employees be motivated to complete the training and earn NCRC

8. Obtaining NCRC Goal WIA/Unemployment Work closely to provide opportunities to unemployed to help them re-enter the workforce Collaboration with WIA/Unemployment to promote NCRC to those faced with unemployment Willingness of those unemployed to become competitive in the job market and find other employment opportunities

9. Obtaining NCRC Goal College Prep Students Informed of the NCRC, what it was, and how it could benefit them Encouraged to take the test before moving on to college Communicated to students that it would help prepare them to enter the workforce once they had earned a degree Communicated that businesses wanted to see it on a resume

10. Obtaining NCRC Goal As part of the GED training, NCRC is a goal for students Helps them to read more critically for parts of the GED Goal for many of GED students is to obtain employment once the GED is earned Will be candidates for more employment opportunities once the GED is obtained, so NCRC given to help them be more competitive and employable

11. CONCLUSION Russell County was the first county to reach the 15 % goal of workforce age population to hold an NCRC NCRC has been widely promoted Businesses and organizations within the community have embraced the idea of the NCRC and have helped to promote it NCRC has also been promoted to those going to college or trying to earn a GED