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It Started with a Question
"What if we could build curious, capable people before they ever walk through our door?"
That question came from Deb Cleary, President and CEO of ETS, a staffing agency her mother Hope Coryer founded in Plattsburgh in 1982. For over four decades, ETS had been connecting workers with employers across the North Country. But Deb kept seeing the same thing: young people entering the workforce who were talented but unprepared. Not because they lacked ability, but because no one had shown them what the real world actually looked like.
As a 100% women-owned business rooted in community, giving back wasn't just a value at ETS. It was woven into the company's DNA from day one. Hope Coryer had insisted on it, and Deb carried that forward.
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In 2018, Deb took that question and turned it into something real. She founded Ready4Real as a nonprofit workforce development program, designed to bridge the gap between education and employment for young people in the North Country.
The idea was straightforward: go into schools, meet students where they are, and teach them the skills that no textbook covers. How to shake someone's hand with confidence. How to write a resume that tells their story. How to walk into an interview and own the room. How to manage money, navigate conflict, and show up as their best self.
Ready4Real wasn't built in a boardroom. It was built in classrooms, gymnasiums, and job sites across Clinton, Essex, Franklin, and Hamilton Counties.
"If you can build a workforce that's engaged in wanting to learn, they can learn anything. One of the ways you do that is to build curious people."
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Deb Cleary, Founder of Ready4Real & CEO of ETS
From Program to Organization
What started as a single program quickly grew. Schools saw the impact. Educators reached out. Students started asking for more.
Ready4Real became a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, expanding beyond its ETS roots to serve a wider mission. With support from organizations like the Adirondack Foundation, Hudson Headwaters Foundation, and community funding sources, the program scaled to reach hundreds of students every year.
Partnerships formed with schools across the region: Beekmantown Central School, Chateaugay, Salmon River, FEH BOCES, Champlain Valley Family Center, and more. Each partnership was designed around the specific needs of that community's students.
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The curriculum evolved too. What began with resume writing and interview prep expanded into a full framework: conflict management, emotional intelligence, leadership, financial literacy, the Myers-Briggs personality assessment, and the National Work Readiness Credential.
Students weren't just learning about careers. They were discovering who they were. They were building confidence, finding their voice, and connecting with local employers through real internships and job site visits at places like the Clinton County DA's Office, the City of Plattsburgh Police Department, ADK Regional Theatre, and dozens of other organizations.
Ready4Real had become something much bigger than a program. It had become a community.
Where We Are Today
What started as one woman's question has grown into a regional movement. Today, Ready4Real operates as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving students and young adults ages 14-21 across the North Country.
Our team works side-by-side with educators, employers, and community partners to deliver programming that's structured but flexible, supportive but never soft. We meet students where they are and help them get where they want to go.
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Voices From Our Community
Ready for Real provides our students with an opportunity to prepare for the world outside of high school in a friendly and safe place that teaches them what to expect.
Jerri Charlebois
Life Skills Teacher, Plattsburgh High School
I'm so thankful I was able to participate in Ready4Real. This program has given me opportunities I wouldn't have gotten in my life if I wasn't a part of it. I have the ambition to become something great.
Kareena
Ready4Real Participant
The idea of bringing these young students into the real world and showing them what a potential job looks like along with preparing them with the tools they need to succeed is awesome.
Ryan Douglas
Camso
Looking Ahead
The workforce is changing. Technology, remote work, and new industries are reshaping what it means to be career-ready. But one thing hasn't changed: young people still need confidence, skills, and someone who believes in them.
Ready4Real is growing to meet that need. More schools, more partnerships, more students reached. The goal has always been the same: help young people feel capable, informed, and ready for what comes next.
Our Vision
Ready4Real's work will support a North Country where all people are prepared to thrive in their life and work, to ensure a strong, healthy workforce.