VALDOSTA — Brooks County is now a Certified Work Ready Community.

Brooks County is the second county in Valdosta Technical College’s eight-county service area to receive the certification. Cook County was first.

Valdosta Technical College administers the Work Ready program which includes assessments required for certification, skills training and job profiles for businesses, said Director of Career Services and WorkKeys Penelope Schmidt.

The designation means the county has a skilled workforce businesses demand and the educational infrastructure to drive economic growth.

To earn Work Ready status, high school graduation rates must reach an approved level and a specific percentage of the population must obtain Work Ready certificates, Schmidt said.

Brooks County earned 424 Work Ready certificates and increased the high school graduation rate from 50.5 percent to 63.3 percent.

Counties are given three years achieve the goals necessary for designation.

“Once people earn their Work Ready certificate, they have a credential which can help them prove their foundational workplace skills to potential employers now and as the upswing in the economy occurs,” Schmidt said. “They can also train to increase their skills if needed in order to earn a higher level Work Ready certificate, and all of this is available at no charge.”

Businesses and industries benefit from the designation as it helps match more qualified individuals with job openings, Schmidt said.

“Doing this helps both employees and the business as a whole by reducing training time, increasing morale, reducing turnover and increasing productivity,” she said.

Helping both employees and businesses in a community creates economic development opportunities, such as attracting new businesses and industries to the area and helping existing businesses expand, Schmidt said.

Valdosta Technical College offers the Work Ready program to all individuals and businesses in Lowndes, Cook, Brooks, Berrien, Lanier and Echols counties.

Currently Lowndes County has obtained the required graduation rate and needs 100 more certifications to reach Work Ready status.

Berrien County will be certified once the graduation rate increases, she said.

Nineteen counties have earned the Certified Work Ready Community designation in Georgia and 120 others are working toward their individual goals.