Natural State News

Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-Arkansas) recently said at a press conference that an enterprise that focuses on the improvement of skills and career change called Ready for Life will build up the state's workforce and offer better information on the talent pool.

“This initiative combines a gold mine of information about educational and employment opportunities that will make it easier for Arkansans to enhance their education or to change careers even,” Hutchinson said, according to the Governor of Arkansas website. “Ready for Life will make it easier for employees and employers to find each other, and it will offer business leaders a quick snapshot of the state of the employee pool in Arkansas as they recruit talent.”

An allocation of $14.7 million was issued by Hutchinson in federal governor's Emergency Education Relief Funds and given to Ready for Life, which collaborates with the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce, Arkansas Economic Development Commission, the Division of Workforce Services, K-12 and Institutions of Higher Education.

Ready for Life allows individuals to explore careers, build their resumes, find popular jobs in the area, discover local companies and take online trainings in order to gain skills for employment. Ready for Life users can watch videos and listen to podcasts.

Employers can also utilize Ready for Life by being connected to job seekers in their area and would gain access to job seeker resumes and results from trainees. Employers are also able to track and assign trainings to current employees.

Hutchinson is the 46th governor of Arkansas and was re-elected in 2018 by 65% of the state's vote, which broke records. He has been recognized for leading computer science education, cutting taxes by $150 million, and signing a law that makes an exemption for veterans retirement pay when it comes to income taxes.

To learn more about Ready for Life, click here.