Governor Sonny Perdue and the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development recently announced the Solo Cup Company as the Work Ready Business of the Year. Solo Cup Company, the global manufacturer of single-use food and beverage service products, instituted Work Ready into its three Georgia facilities earlier this year. Working with DeKalb Technical College, the company created job profiles and began using Work Ready to hire the most qualified candidates – resulting in more than 70 new hires. The company has reduced training time, increased productivity, lowered turnover rates and created a path for employee promotion and training.

The inaugural Work Ready Awards ceremony recognized and honored the partners, businesses and individuals who support Work Ready and make it a success. "Together we are providing richer job opportunities for Georgians and delivering larger dividends to the companies that call our state home," said Governor Perdue. "Work Ready demonstrates that Georgia knows what it is going to take to competitive in the future and we are preparing our workers and companies today."

The Work Ready Awards, held at the Georgia Freight Depot Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008, also showcased the State’s first-ever Certified Work Ready Business and Communities. During the Work Ready Awards, recognition was also paid to another Rockdale company, Lithonia Lighting. Daniel Griffith was delivering pizzas and searching for a better job when he realized that Lithonia Lighting, an Acuity Brands company, used Work Ready to make hiring decisions. Griffith earned a Silver Work Ready Certificate and was able to land the job he wanted. Only four months after joining the company, he was promoted and has today doubled his salary from his pizza delivery days.

"Earning a Work Ready certificate ensures our citizens have the foundation skills necessary to staff existing jobs and to master the innovative technologies new jobs will require tomorrow," says Dr. Robin Hoffman, President of DeKalb Technical College.

Georgia’s Work Ready initiative is based on a skills assessment certification and skills gap training for job seekers and a job profiling system for businesses. By identifying both the needs of business and the available skills of Georgia’s workforce, the state can more effectively generate the right talent for the right jobs.

For more information on the Work Ready initiative, visit www.dekalbtech.edu/busind/workready.