Eight young adults from three eastern Kentucky counties are positioning themselves to enter the job market by participating in “Success NSight,” an innovative regional program that delivers intensive training in several helpful skills for young job seekers.

Through “Success NSight,” the participants are getting rapid lessons in honing job-interview skills, saving and managing money, and developing and demonstrating the basic job skills that most employers are seeking. The program is designed for participants who have either graduated from or left high school but have not made a successful transition into a job or career.

The participants are from Breathitt, Owsley, and Wolfe counties. The three-week program is administered by Workforce Investment Act (WIA) staff of the Middle Kentucky River Area Development Council (MKRADC) under the guidance and management of the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP). EKCEP launched Success NSight earlier this year as a way to offer older teens and young adults intensive preparation for entering the job market. Successful sessions have been held in Prestonsburg and Pikeville, led by WIA staff from the Big Sandy Area Community Action Program (Big Sandy CAP).

Building and perfecting job interviewing skills is an important component of the Success NSight curriculum. Last week, participants this week began a round of mock job interviews that were videotaped. The tapes were played back later, allowing the participants to critique their performances, analyze their strengths and weaknesses, and identify areas where they need to improve in order to be prepared for real job interviews.

Success NSight also will allow the participants to “shadow” professionals working in skilled jobs to learn about workplace behavior and interactions. The program will also teach the participants ways to manage the money they will make once they land jobs.

In addition to their daily classroom sessions, participants in MKRADC’s Success NSight program have toured a local manufacturing plant and taken part in a detailed presentation on diversity, conflict and ethics in the workplace by Phillip Cochran of the Kentucky Department for Employment Services. The sessions are being led by MKRADC’s WIA case managers: Sheriann Koehler, Anna Hudson, Theresa Noble and Gloria Turner.

Koehler said she feels the program has gotten off to a rousing start.
“Our participants have joined Success NSight to make a difference in their lives,” she said. “All of the different kinds of training they’re receiving will be very beneficial in scoping the paths they all have chosen.”

Participant Kelli Glenn of Wolfe County said she is grateful for the instruction she and her coursemates have received.

“It’s an excellent idea for many young adults who feel lost in the world,” she said. Carolyn Deaton, a participant from Breathitt County, agreed, adding: “The Success NSight program is a great learning experience.”

Other participants in the current Success NSight session include Andrew Oliver, Phillip Deaton, Crystal Clemons, Christopher Neace, Jeff Johnson and Robert Haddix.