Meridian High School students at Ross Collins Career and Technical Center were recognized Thursday for their success on the ACT Work Keys Assessment, a nationally recognized career readiness certificate.

The Work Keys exam allows students to earn a readiness level of bronze, silver, gold or platinum, which represents levels of knowledge and proficiency in Applied Mathematics, Workplace Document and Graphic Literacy. Of the 119 students who took the Work Keys exam, 86% scored silver or better.

Ross Collins director Rob Smith said the students had a reason to hold their heads high. Their success on the assessment is proof to both future employers and themselves that they are prepared for their future careers.

“Believe it or not, this was our first year to go full blown with ACT Work Keys across the board,” he said. “And I’ll tell you what. You have knocked it out of the park. You have done a great job. You have far exceeded my expectations of what we could have done this year in Work Keys and we’re her to celebrate that this morning.”

Meridian Community Development Director Craig Hitt said the students’ success would not only benefit them in their careers but would benefit the city as well. 

One of the biggest draws for industries looking to relocate or expand is an educated, skilled workforce, he said, and the ACT Work Keys program is part of that.

Currently, Hitt said, Meridian is working toward becoming an ACT Work Ready community, and having certified workers is the foundation of that effort.

“What you have done and what you are being recognized for this morning is the platform we need to move forward,” he said.

The National Career Readiness Certificates students earned on the Work Keys assessment open the door for Meridian to become a Work Ready community, Hitt said. Students’ success, he said, helps Meridian be more attractive to industries and benefits the entire community.

Hitt urged students to share their success, and in the future, when they see Meridian has become a Work Ready community, know they played a part in that achievement.

“You go out and tell everybody that you see, ‘I helped start that. I helped start the process for us to become a Work Ready community,’ because you have, and you need to tell that story,” he said. “Thank you for what you’re doing and what you’re going to do for us here in Meridian.”

Of the 119 students tested, 22 earned a bronze level, 44 earned silver, 26 earned gold, six earned platinum, the highest level of career readiness attainable.

MHS senior Kiersten White said taking the assessment and earning the career readiness certification helped prepare her for the workforce and boosted her confidence in her abilities. White said she and her fellow students can take what they learned from the assessment and put their skills to work building the future of Meridian.

“In my generation, since we’re the first, we can start making changes around Meridian that cater to not only our generation but the community as a whole,” she said. “And since we’re getting that insight, it’s also preparing us to be more responsible, be more mature and help us look further into the future as what we really want our community to look like.”