The Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP) is launching a six-month survey of eastern Kentucky employers that will identify the skills that the region’s workers will need to succeed in the future.

The Workforce Opportunity Project survey results will guide the kinds of training EKCEP will fund to help the region’s employers and workers.

Jeff Whitehead, executive director of EKCEP, said, “We are asking employers to tell us what only they can: what training do they need the most from the workforce training system in eastern Kentucky? This project is about East Kentucky business leaders helping each other. This is not an outside study. This is an opportunity for business leaders in our
own region to define the training services that will help us all prosper”
                                                                                      
The groundbreaking survey will include 100 face-to-face interviews with company decision-makers who will be responsible for hiring future employees throughout the 23-county area that EKCEP serves. The training needs for positions ranging from entry-level to executive will be evaluated.

“This project will have a huge impact on how we train, where we train, and when we train eastern Kentucky’s workforce. This vital information will let us spend our training dollars where employers say they will do the most good,” Whitehead said.

Companies of various sizes will be contacted by Career Span, Inc., a career resource firm that is conducting the survey under contract with EKCEP. Carla Hunter, president of Career Span, will be the survey’s project manager.

Rocky Adkins, chairman of the EKCEP Workforce Investment Board, said the study will play a large part in helping create a competitive advantage for eastern Kentucky’s workforce.

“I cannot underscore enough the importance of this project to Eastern Kentucky businesses and our future economic vitality,” Adkins said.  “These 100 businesses and their employees will help us understand the needs of the region and what kinds of training and educational tools we must plan for to be competitive in the years to come.”

Results of the survey will be published by March 2010.  A reception will be held for participating employers at the 2010 spring EKCEP, Inc. board meeting.

A web site, currently in development, will provide comprehensive information relating to the project and may be found at www.workforceopportunityproject.com.

EKCEP is a local nonprofit workforce agency. This project is funded through Kentucky’s Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, with Workforce Investment Act funds. EKCEP operates the 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. EKCEP is an equal-opportunity employer with equal-opportunity programs. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. For additional
information on EKCEP visit www.ekcep.org.

For additional information on the Workforce Opportunity Program survey contact Carla Ockerman-Hunter at Career Span, Inc. at 859.233.7726 or via e-mail at carla@careerspanusa.com