This document outlines Carroll County's application for Kentucky's Work Ready Communities program certification. It provides details on the program criteria, including benchmarks for graduation rates, career readiness certification rates, educational attainment rates, GED attainment reduction targets, broadband access, soft skills training programs, and demonstrated community commitment. Carroll County currently meets several criteria but must make plans to improve its graduation rate, career readiness certification rate, and educational attainment level within three and five years to receive certification.

1. Application Package
CARROLL COUNTY
Work Ready

2. WHAT IS THE WORK READY
COMMUNITIES PROGRAM?
A Kentucky Work Ready Community certification is
an assurance to business and industry that the
community is committed to providing the highly-
skilled workforce required in today’s competitive
global economy.

3. WHY SEEK WORK READY
CERTIFICATION?
A well-trained workforce is critical to successful
economic development and community’s ability to
compete for jobs and investment.

4. BENEFITS OF WORK READY
DESIGNATION
The Kentucky Work Ready Community program has
the ability to transform a community.
It encourages counties to take a credible inventory
of the current and future workforce, identify the
gaps and carry out strategies to achieve a more
knowledgeable, trained workforce.

5. CARROLL COUNTY’S
DEMOGRAPHICS:
• Living in Poverty: 27.8%
• Less than high school diploma or equivalent: 22%
• Unemployment rate: 8.8% (March 2014 Highest in NKY
ADD)
• Working age population (18-64): 6,698
• Total employment: 6,468
• Average weekly wage: $913.00 (4th Highest in Kentucky)

6. WORK READY CRITERIA:
Criteria State when we
started Work
Ready
Curent State 3 year
Threshold
5 year
Threshold
Graduation
Rate
88.4% 91.4% 86.1% 98% by 2022
NCRC 9.88% 11.94% 9% 15%
Internet
Availability
94.9% 100% > 90% > 90%
GED
Attainment
25.7% without
a GED
22% without a
GED
19% without a
GED
17% without a
GED
Educational
Attainment
13.9% with at
least a two-
year degree
14.2% with at
least a two-
year degree
25% with at
least two-year
degree
32% with at
least two-year
degree

7. CRITERIA: GRADUATION RATE
Graduation Rate: Must present a
plan to raise the rate to 86.1%
within three years.
Plan to raise rate to 98% by 2022.
2014 Carroll County Graduation
rate: 91.4%

8. CRITERIA: CAREER READY
Must present a plan to reach
9% of the working age
population (18-64) holding
National Career Readiness
Certificates within three
years and 15% within five
years.
Carroll County NCRC:
11.94%

9. CRITERIA: EDUCATIONAL
ATTAINMENT
The percentage of working-age
(18-64) adults in a community
with at least a two-year degree.
Must present a plan to be at
25% within three years and at
32% within five years and 39%
within seven years.
Carroll County: 14.2%

10. CRITERIA: GED ATTAINMENT
Reduce the percentage of
working age adults in your
county without a high school
diploma or high school
equivalency diploma as based on
the American Community
Survey by 3% points in three
years and 5% points in five years.
Carroll County: 22% without
high school diploma or
equivalent

11. CRITERIA: GED PLAN
17.0%
18.0%
19.0%
20.0%
21.0%
22.0%
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Follow Current Methods
Follow Proposed Plan
3-Year Goal
5-Year Goal

12. CRITERIA: BROADBAND
A rural county must have
3Mbs speeds or greater
available to 90% of housing
units with the exception of
those they can show to be
inaccessible (cost prohibitive)
by technology other than
wireless.
Carroll County: 100%

13. CRITERIA:WORK ETHICS /SOFT
SKILLS
A Certified Work Ready
Community must have a
program or programs to
address work ethic/soft skills
development and
credentialing for both the
secondary school and post
secondary adult populations.

14. CRITERIA: COMMUNITY
COMMITMENT
A measurement of commitment
from community and
government agencies to the
process of becoming certified
and remaining certified.This
allows a community to
demonstrate true collaboration
and progress toward achieving
strategic goals that bring
together education, workforce,
economic development and
elected leadership.