A stronger Eastern Kentucky begins with people who have opportunities to build a future here, and businesses that have the skilled employees they need to succeed. During National Workforce Development Month this September, Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP) is highlighting how workforce development helps build both.
Across its service area, EKCEP works with local service providers, employers, schools, colleges, and community organizations to connect people with training, employment, and support. That work helps residents prepare for their first job, learn new skills, return to work after a layoff or interruption, and move toward careers that provide greater stability for their families. In program year 2025, EKCEP and its regional partners served more than 8,000 Eastern Kentuckians pursuing training, employment, and career advancement.
“Workforce development is one of the ways we build a stronger region,” said Becky Carnes-Miller, EKCEP’s executive director. “When thousands of people every year get the support to build their skills and employers have partners who understand their needs, we create more opportunities for families and businesses to succeed here at home.”
Independent analyses conducted by Lightcast confirm the economic value of that work. EKCEP’s WIOA-funded services return $10.33 in taxpayer benefits for every dollar invested, and its Recovery & Reentry program returns $12.94 per dollar, the highest return of any EKCEP program. Prosper Appalachia’s economic-impact analysis shows a $4.71 return per dollar for young adults ages 16 to 24, with participant employment climbing from 3 percent to 43 percent. Together, EKCEP’s programs generated $70.5 million in participant earnings gains and $102.2 million in benefits to Kentucky taxpayers in program year 2025.
For someone entering the workforce, the first step may be exploring career options or gaining experience with a local employer. For a worker facing a layoff, it may mean identifying how existing skills translate to a new field and accessing the training to make that transition. Every year, participants complete CDL training, welding certifications, healthcare credentials, and paid internships that lead directly to employment with regional employers.
Through Prosper Appalachia, EKCEP helps high school students explore careers, develop plans for their future, and gain paid work experience. Recovery & Reentry services help two overlapping populations, justice-involved individuals and people in or seeking recovery from substance use disorder, prepare for employment, address barriers, and find support as they return to work.
Across these programs, career advisors help participants turn goals into practical steps. Depending on individual needs and program eligibility, that assistance can include training, job search support, and help with challenges such as transportation or the tools needed to begin a job.
Workforce development also supports the employers whose success is essential to the region’s future. EKCEP and its local partners work with businesses to understand hiring needs, connect them with candidates, and develop training opportunities. Services can include on-the-job training, work experience placements, and connections to apprenticeship and other training resources.
Those relationships help connect the skills people are developing with the jobs employers need to fill. They also give young people and other job seekers opportunities to learn about careers available in their own communities.
EKCEP’s regional service network operates Kentucky Career Center offices across Eastern Kentucky, delivered in partnership with local Community Action agencies, and supported by employer partners across health care, manufacturing, skilled trades, and technology.
National Workforce Development Month offers an opportunity to recognize the front-line professionals, educators, employers, and community partners who make that work possible, and the Eastern Kentuckians taking steps toward their own goals.
Residents seeking employment or training assistance, and employers looking for help with hiring or developing their workforce, can visit ekcep.org to connect with EKCEP and its service network.
EKCEP, a nonprofit workforce development agency headquartered in Hazard, Ky., serves the citizens of 23 Appalachian coalfield counties. EKCEP is funded by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, along with various federal and state grants and private donations, and is a proud partner in the American Job Center network.