Alva Receives Work Ready Certification

December 4, 2008 -- The Oklahoma Department of Commerce recognized Alva as a "Certified Work Ready Community" during a recent ceremony at the Woods County Courthouse. Oklahoma Department of Commerce Secretary Natalie Shirley praised the combined efforts of the city and its leaders to become the third community in the state to receive the work ready certification.

"The key to economic development in Oklahoma is workforce recruitment, training, and certification," Shirley says. "The Work Ready Community certification is a tool that will strengthen the pipeline of skilled workers in Oklahoma."

Launched by the Governor's Council for Workforce & Economic Development and Commerce, Certified Work Ready Communities quantify a communities' skilled workforce to an existing employer or a new business considering Oklahoma for a new location. The program is one of the first of its kind in the country.

Norma Noble, Oklahoma Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary of Workforce Development, says every state in the nation is competing to attract industry and grow existing businesses.

"What it takes to compete effectively is a skilled and available workforce," Noble says. "Communities which earn Work Ready certification automatically gain a competitive advantage over non-certified communities because they can quantify a skilled workforce to an existing employer or a new business considering Oklahoma for a new location."