At the Annual Meeting of the Northwest Tennessee Workforce Board, held September 13, 2016, Chairman Jimmy Williamson and Vice President for Workforce Development Margaret Prater recognized Yvette Dixon, Adult Education West Tennessee Representative, as the 2016 Board Member of the Year.  Nominated and elected by the staff to the Board, Dixon was recognized for her leadership and dedicated service in support of the Board and the American Job Centers.  “Yvette has been a tremendous asset to the Board” states Prater.  “We know we can always count on her to serve in any capacity needed.”  Dixon has served as a member of the Northwest Tennessee Workforce Board since 2013 and has served on the Career Center Services Committee since the fall of 2015.  She has over 15 years of experience in providing Adult Education services in Northwest Tennessee. 

On August 25, 2016, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development released the July 2016 unemployment rates by county.  Below are the rates by county for the Northwest Tennessee Workforce Board region (WIOA 12):

For additional information, please see the Department's News Release.

On July 28, 2016, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development released the June 2016 unemployment rates by county.  Below are the rates by county for the Northwest Tennessee Workforce Board region (WIOA 12): 

For additional information, please see the Department's news release.

Beginning in the fall of 2014, under the leadership of each County’s Mayor, and Margaret Prater, Vice President for Workforce Development for the Northwest Tennessee Workforce Board, each county in the region formed workforce development committees to launch the ACT® Work Ready Communities initiative, a workforce system designed to assist sites and regions in developing their workforce pipeline to provide skilled workers for employers, via job profiling and the National Career Readiness Certificate™ (NCRC).  Two counties, Dyer and Lake, were recognized at the 2015 ACT® Workforce Symposium for completing all of their goals and achieving Certified Work Ready Communities status.  This year, the counties of Benton, Crockett, Henry, Lauderdale, and Obion will receive certification at the 2016 ACT® Workforce Symposium in Nashville, TN.

The initiative, supported by the staff of the region’s American Job Centers, high schools, and local employers, and funded by the Delta Regional Authority, United States Department of Agriculture, and TN Department of Labor and Workforce Development, has resulted in area residents earning over 8,000 National Career Readiness Certificates™ (NCRCs) towards certification goals in the eight counties attaining certification as ACT® Work Ready Communities:

Benton County, Mayor Barry Barnett: 486 NCRCs Earned 
Crockett County, Mayor Gary Reasons: 396 NCRCs Earned
Dyer County, Mayor Chris Young: 2,010 NCRCs Earned 
Henry County, Mayor Brent Greer: 782 NCRCs Earned
Lake County, Mayor Denny Johnson: 339 NCRCs Earned
Lauderdale County, Mayor Maurice Gaines: 916 NCRCs Earned 
Obion County, Mayor Bennie McGuire: 1,137 NCRCs Earned

Gibson County, under the leadership of Mayor Tom Witherspoon, has since reached 100% of its goals, earning 1,994 NCRCs, and will be recognized at the 2017 Symposium.  The remaining counties in the region anticipate achieving certification in the coming months, with Carroll County having met 93% of their goals, Tipton County having met 95% of their goals, and Weakley County having met 79% of their goals.

Read more about the northwest Tennessee Work Ready Communities initiative, or check your county’s progress toward meeting their Work Ready Communities goals.