Every advantage counts when looking to attract new industries, and the City of Meridian is looking to get a leg up on the competition. A cooperative effort between the city, Meridian Public School District, Lauderdale County School District and Meridian Community College looks to lead the community into becoming an ACT Work Ready Community.

Students at all three schools take the ACT Work Keys Assessment, which measures their knowledge of Applied Mathematics, Workplace Document and Graphic Literacy. Students can receive a bronze, silver, gold or platinum National Career Readiness Certificate depending on how well they perform on the test. The community, in turn, can become a Work Ready Community by meeting testing quotas and having businesses incorporate the certifications into their hiring processes.

Community Development Director Craig Hitt said becoming a Work Ready Community is a boon for both the workforce and the community. Students can use their certificates to show employers nationwide they have the skills needed to succeed, while the community can use the testing data to show potential industries it can provide educated, capable workers.

“This ACT Work Ready certificate can be, and is, recognized nation wide,” he said.

Meridian has submitted its paperwork to become a Work Ready Community and is waiting for feedback from the ACT Work Keys program. Once the application is reviewed, Hitt said the city will be given goals to meet with testing quotas and benchmarks for Work Keys adoption by local businesses and industries.

“The ACT will report back to us on what our goals are that have to be reached,” he said. “Those include basically testing, the number of tests that are given, which we’re in great shape with…and then the other is going to be businesses that require or recognize the ACT Work Keys certificate.”

Testing, Hitt said, will not be a problem as all MPSD and LCSD students take the assessment before graduating. Students at both schools not only took the assessment but performed very well, which makes Meridian that much more attractive to industries, he said.

Despite it being the first year the Work Keys assessment was given at their school, 119 Meridian High School students took the exam in 2022, with more than 86% receiving a silver level certification or higher. Lauderdale County students were not far behind in their performance.

MCC’s workforce development center is also able to offer testing for both students and members of the community as well, Hitt said.

Hitt said he knew of several local businesses who were requiring the Work Keys assessment for new hires, and even the City of Meridian itself uses the test for some positions. Employers in Lauderdale County recognizing the Work Keys assessment include East Mississippi Community College, the Mississippi Department of Human Services, The Citizens Bank, Rush Health Systems, West Quality Food Service Inc., C Spire, At Home Care Inc., HMP Management Corp., Mike Rosier Construction, Telefax, Mississippi Power, Van Zyverden and MUNA Federal Credit Union.

As the assessment catches on in the Meridian area, Hitt said he hopes more industries will recognize the test and incorporate it into their hiring practices.

Meridian will not be the first city in Mississippi to become a Work Ready community, Hitt said, but the testing will give local students a leg up on job searches and provide the community with one more tool to use to attract industries and jobs to the region.