Career Center at KCEOC Helps Knox Countian Elyjah Lay Land First Job

Elyjah Lay didn’t want to wait until he was done with school to get into the workforce and land his first job. He took care of that goal before his senior year of high school, thanks to assistance he received at the Kentucky Career Center JobSight in Knox County.

Elyjah Lay at the Corbin library.

Lay was 17 in the summer of 2022 and had just completed his junior year at Corbin High School. He already knew about the employment services available at JobSight through his brother, who had previously enrolled in the program. When his mother mentioned it, too, he decided to call the career center and immediately began working with James Siler, a career advisor with the Knox County JobSight, which is located within KCEOC Community Action Partnership’s office in Barbourville. Siler helped Lay prepare for his job search and determine what services might be available. 

“We just signed up for the program and he gave me a lot of options,” Lay said.  

A partner in the Kentucky Career Center JobSight network, KCEOC provides Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) services in Knox County under contract with Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP). Those services include programs for adults, dislocated workers, and youth between the ages of 18 and 24 who may need assistance honing skills such as résumé building or networking with local employers, or who need assistance being retrained or going to school. 

Lay was eligible for in-school youth services through JobSight, which meant Siler could enroll him in the program, gauge his career interest and aptitude, and begin work to match him with local employment opportunities that would best suit him. He landed his first ever job at the summer food service program at KCEOC Community Action Partnership, which helps fill nutritional gaps for at-risk children in Knox County. He noted that job was a great opportunity at only 17 years of age to get some real-world work experience.  

“That was probably one of my best opportunities,” Lay said. “That was my first real job, and working with the kids was fun. I really enjoyed doing it.” 

Fast forward to his senior year at Corbin, and Lay continued meeting with Siler and discussing different options, which eventually led him to an opportunity working part-time as a circulation clerk at the public library in Corbin, first after school and then picking up more hours during the summer as he prepared for college.  

“That was the best part of the day, coming to the library after school and working, meeting the patrons,” he said, adding that the camaraderie he experienced both with working at the summer food service program and then at the library set the stage for his current trajectory in college and working toward a degree in education. 

“I already had an emotional attachment to people, and I think that’s what ultimately led me to want to be a teacher, and not only that, but I had a lot of influences in my life,” he added. “I’m a first-generation college student; I’m a first-generation high school graduate.” 

Lay earned a full scholarship for college and is currently enrolled at University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, maintaining a full schedule while continuing to work part-time at the library.  

“I’m getting to work about the same hours I did during the summer,” he said. “The people here are really nice. John Baker is a great boss. It’s been a great experience.” 

Gaining work experience in a real-world setting has been valuable for him, Lay added, and working through the KCEOC JobSight made it easy to connect with that early opportunity.  

“Jimmy played an important role in getting me a job because it’s like everything he did was that he did everything,” Lay said. “It’s like all I had to do was show up.”  

For anyone else in a similar position looking to land their first job, even as someone as young as 17, Lay said he would recommend they start their job search at their local Kentucky Career Center JobSight and see what options are available to them.  

“It’s a good experience,” he added. “It’s so easy and they try to fit it to what benefits you and what you want to do.” 

If you’re interested in applying for career and employment services, visit jobsight.org/locations to find your nearest Kentucky Career Center JobSight and contact a career advisor to get started. 

EKCEP, a nonprofit workforce development agency headquartered in Hazard, Ky., serves the citizens of 23 Appalachian coalfield counties. The agency provides an array of workforce development services and operates the Kentucky Career Center JobSight network of workforce centers, which provide access to more than a dozen state and federal programs that offer employment and training assistance for job seekers and employers all under one roof. Learn more about us at http://www.ekcep.org or http://www.facebook.com/ekcep.