The Pike County JobSight operated by the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. was recognized by U.S. Dept. of Labor (DOL) officials as one of the premier one-stop workforce centers in the southeast during the "JobSight Jubilee" dinner that concluded the Pike County "JobSight Awareness Day" celebration on Sept. 12.

William A. Sanders, Jr., director of Workforce Innovation in DOL's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training in Washington D.C., and Austin Miller, director of the Division of Workforce Operations for DOL' s Region III headquarters in Atlanta, GA, both praised the Pike County JobSight at a dinner for local business leaders and state and local workforce professionals at Jenny Wiley State Resort Park. The dinner was held in conjunction with the Pike County JobSight Awareness Day, which included tours of the facility located in the Pikeville Campus of Mayo Technical College and Prestonsburg Community College.

Miller called the Pike County JobSight center "one of the best one-stops in the south," adding that he has seen many of the one-stop workforce centers in DOL's eight-state Region III in the course of his work. Miller said the Pike County JobSight-with its marriage of a customer-friendly multi-agency workforce center and a state-of-the-art educational institution-is at or near the top of the list.

Sanders agreed with Miller's estimation of the Pike County JobSight and praised the facility's state-of-the-art computer equipment.

Sanders reminded the audience that the successes of the JobSight network have been publicly recognized by U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, who used the JobSight's role in bringing a new factory to eastern Kentucky as an example of what workforce centers can accomplish in her keynote address at the recent national Workforce Innovation 2002 Conference and again in her Labor Day address.

Also speaking on the panel were: Kenneth H. Oilschlager, chairman of the Kentucky Workforce Investment Board and president and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce; and 99th District Rep. Rocky Adkins, who is also chairman of the Eastern Kentucky C.E.P., Inc. Workforce Investment Board. The program was emceed by Robert Knight, president of the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB), a Washington D.C.-based association that supports and promotes the work of state and local WIBs.

Earlier that day, JobSight Awareness Day gave visitors a chance to experience the JobSight location that was the focus of the event. Tours introduced guests to the JobSight offices, testing and teaching areas, and high- lighted the Career Resource Center, which provides a library of useful tools for job seekers including computers for internet job searches. In addition to the tours, JobSight Awareness Day included a live on-site radio broadcast by WDHR-FM in which News Director Shannon Deskins interviewed JobSight and EKCEP staff members about the free services available through the JobSight, and a meeting of the Eastern Kentucky C.E.P., Inc. Workforce Investment Board, which oversees the JobSight network.

The Pike County JobSight was recently featured by DOL Region III as one of six model Workforce Investment Act one-stop centers profiled in "One-Stop South," a 40-minute video on the best one-stop centers in DOL's eight-state southeast region.

At JobSight one-stop centers, over a dozen state and federal workforce programs are available under a single roof. JobSight customers can get information about and access to whatever programs they need to get a job, get a better job, or help their business succeed. The free services available for job seekers include job placement, career planning, skills assessment, vocational rehabilitation, GED courses, education and training information, student financial assistance, assistance for older workers and unemployment insurance. The services available for employers include applicant screening, work readiness training, and other personnel services.

The federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) mandated the creation of one-stop workforce centers where customers could get access to the full array of federal employment and training services. "JobSight" is the brand name for the WIA one-stop centers operated by EKCEP. EKCEP has served 23 counties in eastern Kentucky with workforce development and training programs since 1968. Today, EKCEP's network of JobSight centers includes four comprehensive one-stop centers (like the Pike County JobSight), three JobSight Affiliate Sites, and 68 JobSight Access Points. Programs and services available through the Pike County JobSight include:

Employment Services (Ky. DES)
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Title I Adult services
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Title I Dislocated Worker services
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Title I Youth services
Adult Education and Literacy Services (GED, etc.)
Vocational Rehabilitation (Ky. Dept. for Vocational Rehabilitation)
Job Corps · Unemployment Insurance
Trade Adjustment Act/NAFTA services
Postsecondary Vocational Education
Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) programs
Older Workers training services

Job seekers can also use the Pike County JobSight's Career Resource Center as a headquarters for their job search. Besides internet access, the center includes a fax machine, photocopier, a printer, and resume-writing software, as well as helpful books and videos on topics ranging from job interview techniques to time management.