Leslie Liles Named Work Ready's Job Seeker of the Month

ATLANTA – Leslie Liles, resident of Locust Grove has been selected as Georgia Work Ready’s Job Seeker of the Month, an initiative that recognizes the hard work and determination of Georgia Work Ready job seekers to validate their core job skills and improve their job prospects. Since January, 3,782 Work Ready Certified job seekers have found jobs.

“Giving Georgians the tools to realize their own potential is what Work Ready strives to do,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “It provides them with the knowledge that they have what it takes to have a meaningful career and contribute to the success of Georgia’s businesses.”

Leslie Liles spent the majority of her 30-year career in the construction and manufacturing industries before suffering the impact of two layoffs within a three-year period due to economic downsizing. Leslie found herself unemployed, in need of new opportunities and an income.

She made finding a job her full-time job and went to the local Georgia Department of Labor office in Hall County to sign up for their reemployment workshops. While attending class, Leslie found out about Georgia Work Ready. She scheduled an appointment and took the assessment. Leslie earned a gold certificate, narrowly missing the platinum certificate.

             Armed with the knowledge she was qualified to do a greater number of jobs, Leslie expanded her job search to fields she had never previously considered. Wearing her Work Ready pin, Leslie interviewed for and was offered a position at Genco Distribution System, Inc. in McDonough. Leslie serves as a pricing analyst on their Kimberly Clark account and manages inventory and raw materials.

“I would never have thought I would be changing careers and finding new professional challenges at this point in my career, but earning the Work Ready Certificate showed me I had far more opportunities open to me because of my skills,” said Leslie. “I now look forward to a new career in a different field and doing things I’ve never done before. Because of the specialized training I do at Kimberly Clark headquarters, I regularly travel – something I’ve never had a chance to do at former jobs. Taking the Work Ready assessment was one of the best things I could have done for my self-esteem.”

Each month, www.gaworkready.org will feature a success story of how earning a Work Ready Certificate has improved a job seeker’s confidence and availed them with new employment opportunities. Certificate holders are encouraged to visit the website to share their stories about how earning a certificate has encouraged them to seek skills gap training and better job opportunities. Featured Work Ready individuals will receive a $100 pre-paid incentive card in recognition of their hard work.

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 please visit the Web site at www.gaworkready.org

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