Workforce Initiatives

KentuckianaWorks invests millions of dollars in providing workforce education and training for area residents. We also invest in organizations that provide education, training and employment services to jobseekers and employers. Some of our workforce initiatives are described below.

 

KentuckianaWorks One-Stop Career Centers

The Kentuckiana One-Stop Career Centers are the first stop for the region's jobseekers. The One-Stop Career Centers offer staff and resources to help build a resume, find education and job training opportunities and connect to a better job. The centers also help laid-off workers navigate the process leading to a new job by providing financial assistance – KentuckianaWorks Scholarships – to get training for a high-demand career. In 2012, KentuckianaWorks has $800,000 in federal funds to help unemployed and underemployed workers get job training or complete degrees to qualify for high-demand careers. Click here to learn how you might qualify for a KentuckianaWorks Scholarship.

One-Stop Career Centers also help employers find qualified workers. The Jefferson Community and Technical College operates the One-Stop Career Centers in the seven-county region and serves thousands of jobseekers and hundreds of business customers each year.

Last year (FY 7/1/10 – 6/30/11), 31,674 jobseekers and laid-off workers visited a KentuckianaWorks One-Stop Career Center. Staff provided in-depth, one-on-one assistance to 1,508 customers. After being helped by KentuckianaWorks, 892 started their job search, and within three months, 74 percent had found jobs.Last year (FY 7/1/10 – 6/30/11), 31,674 jobseekers and laid-off workers visited a KentuckianaWorks One-Stop Career Center. Staff provided in-depth, one-on-one assistance to 1,508 customers. After being helped by KentuckianaWorks, 892 started their job search, and within three months, 74 percent had found jobs.

KentuckianaWorks One-Stop Career Centers serve residents in Jefferson, Bullitt, Henry, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer and Trimble counties. Find your nearest KentuckianaWorks One-Stop Career Center location or call toll-free (877) 639-7559.

CREW Career Center
The CREW Career Center provides free services to assist with career exploration, planning and placement. The Center is a partnership among Metropolitan College, Jefferson Community and Technical College and KentuckianaWorks. Services are available to students of the partner schools as well as the general public.

More information is available at (502) 213-4520. Find the CREW Career Center on the Web.
 

KentuckianaWorks Youth Career Centers

KentuckianaWorks has two Youth Career Centers, one in Jefferson County and one in Bullitt County. Last year (FY 7/1/10 – 6/30/11), these youth career centers served 813 youth (ages 16-21) in skills training, career exploration, academic support and finding jobs. As part of the academic support, 245 youth increased their TABE scores and 208 attained their GED or high school diploma. Seventy-four youth enrolled in advanced training: 42 in college and 32 in short-term skills training. There were 334 youth who gained employment.

KentuckianaWorks Youth Career Center in Jefferson County
 This KentuckianaWorks Youth Career Center focuses on recruiting, educating and finding jobs for young adults age 16-21 who have dropped out of high school. Operated by the Jefferson County Public Schools Adult and Continuing Education program, the Youth Career Center helps young adults search for jobs, research job trends and other occupational information, complete career-interest assessments, build a resume, compose cover letters and much, much more.

Click here for photos of some 2010 GED graduates and other Youth Career Center students honored on May 21, 2010. Find out more about the Jefferson County program and read about the experiences of two young adults who have received assistance with college through programs at the Youth Career Center by clicking here.

For more information, call (502) 574-4115. This KentuckianaWorks Youth Career Center is located at 510 West Broadway, Suite 701, Louisville. Walk-ins are welcome Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

KentuckianaWorks Youth Career Center in Bullitt County
Operated by Goodwill Industries, the KentuckianaWorks Youth Career Center offers career, leadership, educational and personal development services to Bullitt County youth between the ages of 16 and 21 to help them achieve their goals. Click here for photos of some 2010 GED graduates and others honored at the May 13, 2010, graduation ceremonies.

More information is available at (502) 955-9132. This KentuckianaWorks Youth Career Center is located at 505 Buffalo Run Road, Suite 104, Shepherdsville, KY 40165. You can talk with someone Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Find out more about the Bullitt County program and read about the experiences of two recent GED graduates by clicking here.   
 

KentuckianaWorks College Access Center

KentuckianaWorks College Access Center (KCAC) is a one-stop center focusing on college access. Last year, it provided financial aid, educational and career counseling services to adults and youth in the Louisville area and southern Indiana. Free services include assistance in completing financial aid forms, career assessments, help in selecting a postsecondary institution, counseling to rehabilitate defaulted student loans, Internet use for college information and scholarship searches and computer use to prepare for the ACT and SAT.

Click here for the KCAC website. Read the latest issue of the "Connector Newsletter" to learn more about KCAC programs and services.

KCAC locations and phone numbers follow:

  • Jefferson Education Center, 200 W. Broadway, Louisville, KY (502) 584-0475
  • KentuckianaWorks One-Stop Career Center at Bullitt County, Shepherdsville, KY (502) 955-9131
  • Greater Clark County Schools, Auxiliary Services Bldg., 2710 E. 10th St., Jeffersonville, IN (812) 288-4821, Press 7, or enter Ext. 51660 

KentuckianaWorks Construction One-Stop Career Center

Located at the Louisville Urban League, the KentuckianaWorks Construction One-Stop Career Center offers free training to local residents who are serious about a career in the construction industry. The Center also matches construction-related businesses with a pool of trained graduates ready for entry-level jobs in the building trades.

Construction pipeline participants complete an intensive, rigorous screening process and a 120-hour expanded training course that includes basic employability skills, the OSHA 10-hour safety certification, construction mathematics and other topics. Participants also are introduced to a range of career and apprenticeship opportunities and are required to pass a drug screening.

Last year, (FY 7/1/10 – 6/30/11), 44 graduates of the Construction Pipeline program got jobs. Forty gained union employment or apprenticeship, including 10 who graduated from the KentuckianaWorks Welding Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program, and four were employed in non-union construction jobs.
 
This program is made possible through a broad-based partnership among KentuckianaWorks, Louisville Urban League, Justice Resource Center, Building Trades Apprenticeship Coordinators and Directors Association of Kentucky, Greater Louisville Building and Construction Trades Council, Associated Builders and Contractors and Jefferson County Public Schools Adult and Continuing Education.
 
The Louisville Urban League issued a report on Oct. 6, 2010, that shows the KentuckianaWorks Construction Pipeline program helped increase the flow of minority and female skilled labor in the construction of the KFC Yum! Center. Click here to view the report. Click here to view a video explaining how the workforce development program helped the arena authority meet its hiring goals.

The KentuckianaWorks Construction One-Stop Career Center serves residents of Greater Louisville. For more information, call the KentuckianaWorks Construction One-Stop Career Center located at the Louisville Urban League at (502) 566-3405.  Find the KentuckianaWorks Construction One-Stop Career Center on the Web. 
 

KentuckianaWorks Power of Work

KentuckianaWorks Power of Work is a program for individuals who are on Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and who are interested in obtaining pre-employability and job-search skills needed to enter or re-enter the workforce. Customers are assisted with obtaining employment and supported as needed to help with job retention. KentuckianaWorks contracts with Goodwill Industries of Kentucky to operate this program. Customers are referred to Power of Work through the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

Last year (FY 7/1/10-6/30/11), the Power of Work program helped 354 TANF customers overcome barriers to finding employment and obtain jobs. Twenty customers enrolled in advanced training or postsecondary classes, 16 upgraded their skills on the GED and four attained their GED.

KentuckianaWorks Power of Work serves residents in Jefferson, Bullitt, Henry, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer and Trimble counties.
 

Additional KentuckianaWorks Workforce Initiatives

WIRED65 Regional Workforce Partners
In February 2011, the WIRED65 Regional Workforce Partners received a $300,000 federal grant to provide training opportunities and career support over the next two years for jobseekers and adults already working in health care and health enterprises, food and beverage production, and automobile manufacturing, repair and supply jobs in Kentucky and Southern Indiana. The grant will support the expansion of work in the WIRED65 region, which includes the 26 counties in both states along the Interstate 65 corridor.

The grant will be used to help reduce training and recruitment costs for local employers while preparing jobseekers and current employees for more stable, sustainable careers through education and training. The goal is to ensure that current and future workforce needs in the 26-county region will be filled by local, qualified jobseekers or current workers.

As of Aug. 31, 2011, the WIRED65 Regional Workforce Partners has raised $275,000 in local contributions to match the $150,000 for the first year of the grant. Donors include the Brown Foundation, the Gheens Foundation, the Chase Bank Foundation, PNC Bank, Making Connections Louisville and the Community Foundation of Louisville. KentuckianaWorks, Greater Louisville’s Workforce Investment Board, will administer the two-year grant.

"Manufacturing Skills Certification System PowerPoint":  Jennifer M. McNelly, Senior Vice President of The Manufacturing Institute, spoke to a group of advanced manufacturers and other key stakeholders in Louisville on Sept. 30, 2011. McNelly presented information on the Manufacturing Skills Certification System and its benefits for the workforce, educators and employers, as well as economic development. Click here to view the presentation.

Click here for more information about the WIRED65 Regional Workforce Partners and to get contact information for Cindy Read, director, Sector Strategies.

KentuckianaWorks Welding Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program
In 2011, KentuckianaWorks took its commitment to training workers for skilled-trade careers a step further by entering into a partnership with the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 502 Union to create the KentuckianaWorks Welding Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program. The first class of 15 men and women began the 16-week intensive training course in January and graduated from the program in late April. All graduates were accepted into the union’s metal trades apprenticeship program.

The training program is designed to bring new entrants, including minorities and women, into the welding trade and to begin preparing qualified trades workers to meet possible shortages as older welders retire over the next several years.

Students are required to attend 640 hours of accelerated welding pre-apprenticeship training. The 16-week course is eight hours a day, five days a week. Students receive an hourly stipend from KentuckianaWorks through Statewide Reserve dollars (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Workforce Investment Act), as well as welding materials and training equipment.

As metal trades apprentices for Local 502 Union, these graduates will continue to work to find their places in apprenticeship programs for the building trades. Graduates are not just prepared to weld for the plumbing and pipefitting field. They can use their welding skills in manufacturing, for millwrights, for ironworkers as well as in other fields and other crafts to find rewarding careers that are complemented by competitive wages and good benefits.

Click here to see individual photos of the first graduating class, a class photo and a photo of the KentuckianaWorks Welding Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program leaders.

KentuckianaWorks Welding Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program serves residents in the Greater Louisville area.

KentuckianaWorks Reentry By Design
In an effort to help ex-offenders on parole find jobs, KentuckianaWorks began Reentry By Design in 2010. This program offers free job-search assistance to ex-offenders on parole who are 19 years of age or older, who have a referral from their parole officer and who are having difficulty finding a job. Click here to read more about the program.

In less than a year, 40 ex-offenders with moderate to high risk for recidivism have been placed in jobs through KentuckianaWorks Reentry By Design. Thirty-five employers have hired at least one ex-offender, some have more than one ex-offender working for them.

The program is operated by Goodwill Industries of Kentucky and serves ex-offenders in Jefferson County. For more information, ex-offenders should contact their parole officer or KentuckianaWorks Reentry By Design staff at 909 E. Broadway, Louisville, or call (502) 585-5221. The office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

KentuckianaWorks: SummerWorks, a summer jobs program for young adults
A summer job does more than just provide youth with a paycheck to supplement their family's income and to allow them to buy a few things on their own. The summer job experience develops critical workplace skills, such as communication, collaboration and professionalism. Students who work during high school have higher graduation rates and are more likely to enroll in college because they meet people who have used their education to get ahead in life and to pursue meaningful careers.

It is not difficult to hire a young adult through the KentuckianaWorks: Summerworks program, which helps Louisville-area youth find employment for the summer. KentuckianaWorks Executive Director Michael Gritton and KentuckianaWorks Youth Career Center staff are available to help identify the most suitable candidates for your workplace.

In addition, KentuckianaWorks career specialists are available throughout the summer to provide support for both youth and employers. Young adult employees can bring real value to a company during the summer months by covering vacation time or by assisting with special projects.

Last summer, Mayor Greg Fischer encouraged local business leaders to participate in SummerWorks2011 by hiring young adults or donating money to help put a youth to work at a local nonprofit agency. SummerWorks2011 employed 221 young adults, ages 16-21, for seven weeks. Contributions from 17 individuals, businesses and foundations, Metro Government and 11 Metro Councilmembers funded the jobs.

To read more about last year's program and find out how you can contribute to the success of SummerWorks2012, click here. A donation of $2,500 will place a young adult in a meaningful summer work experience at a nonprofit organization.

Please mail your donation to the KentuckianaWorks Foundation, 410 West Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Louisville, KY  40202. If you have questions, please contact KentuckianaWorks by calling or emailing Michael Gritton at (502) 574-3069, Michael.Gritton@kentuckianaworks.org.

Click here to read more about the KentuckianaWorks: SummerWorks2011 program and to see photos of youth who worked with Metro Public Works Department clearing vacant and abandoned lots and other nonprofits and government agencies, as well as youth who were employed by private businesses through the program.

Of the youth employed through SummerWorks2011, 71 were ages 16-17 and 150 were ages 18-21. There were 97 females in the program and 124 males. Additionally, 60 of the workers were still in school; 161 were out of school.

Youth Opportunity Showcase, a job fair for young adults
The Youth Opportunity Showcase is an annual job fair for young adults, ages 16 through 21, in Louisville. The event gives teens a chance to apply for jobs, as well as learn about educational and volunteer opportunities. Each year, nearly 1,000 jobs have been available through area employers. The event is free to both employers and job seekers.

The seventh Youth Opportunity Showcase was Saturday, Feb. 18. More than 1,500 youth attended, and 27 employers had more than 1,300 jobs to fill. Work will begin soon on the 2013 Youth Opportunity Showcase.

The event offers local employers the opportunity to connect with thousands of young adults about full-time, part-time and summer job opportunities. If you are an employer who would like to participate in the 2013 Youth Opportunity Showcase, call (502) 574-2400.

The Youth Opportunity Showcase is sponsored by KentuckianaWorks, Louisville Metro Government, The KentuckianaWorks Youth Career Center in Jefferson County and the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training. 
 

Workforce and Education Resources

Kentuckiana Occupational Outlook
 In conjunction with the University of Louisville, KentuckianaWorks produces an annual Kentuckiana Occupational Outlook that provides detailed career information on the fastest-growing and highest-demand occupations in the Greater Louisville region. The searchable database also includes the education and skills required for success in an occupation. This tool is particularly useful for jobseekers and those planning to enter postsecondary education or training.

KentuckianaWorks Human Capital Scorecard
The annual Human Capital Scorecard, produced in conjunction with the University of Louisville, tracks key measures of educational progress for the region and compares the area's progress among 16 peer metros. Key areas tracked include postsecondary enrollment, degrees granted by postsecondary institutions, high school attainment and the overall educational attainment of residents. More recent versions of the Scorecard also report on the region's attainment of STEM degrees – those awarded in the important fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics plus health care. STEM attainment is important because these fields are seen as being the most directly related to long-term economic development.