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.

The Board of Directors for Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP) selected Gilbert Holland to serve a term as the board’s chair during its regular meeting in September, while also electing Albey Brock to serve as vice chair.

Fifty-five years after its formation, Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP), Inc. is capping National Workforce Development Month in 2023 by celebrating more than half a century of exemplary service in Eastern Kentucky.

When Renee Coleman decided to retire from her career with Kellogg’s, she expected her time would be spent simply enjoying retirement.

What actually happened proved quite the opposite. 

One year after historic flooding swept through several counties in Eastern Kentucky on the morning of July 28, 2022, EKCEP joins people across the region in remembering those lost in the disaster and also recognizing the important work that remains ongoing today to rebuild our communities.

Teleworks USA has been the premier option for connecting Eastern Kentuckians with legitimate work-from-home jobs for more than a decade, and beginning this summer job seekers can again expect to access services in person and on an ongoing basis for the first time since COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were first put in place more than three years ago. 

Emma Ledington was already on her way to a career in nursing when she first learned about the employment services available at her local Kentucky Career Center JobSight in Knox County.

Jacob Howard is no stranger to the commercial trucking industry. His family has been in it since he can remember, so it was a natural move for him when he decided to go for his commercial driver’s license (CDL) and begin working, too. 

Like many at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Shasta Slone wasn’t just facing the uncertainty of a global health crisis, but the prospect of unemployment, as well.

Nicholas Goodpaster has lived in Morgan County his entire life and doesn't plan on leaving, so while looking for a new job in 2022 he turned to the Gateway Kentucky Career Center in West Liberty for assistance in finding work close to home.

Jonathan Helton knew that training to become a lineman wouldn’t be easy, but he was ready to learn a trade that could lead to a full-time career.   

Jesse Pennington was a licensed electrician in Elliott County when the COVID-19 pandemic put a hold on most everything, including his job. It was 2020, and with pandemic protocols in place, Pennington wasn’t able to earn a living in the profession he expected to build a career from.

With a lot of work behind her and more still left to do, Hope Hatfield is turning things around. 

The EKCEP Board of Directors and the Eastern Kentucky Workforce Innovation Board (EKWIB) have named Becky Carnes-Miller as the next executive director for Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc.

Caitlin Crockett wasn’t planning for a career in nursing, but sometimes things have a way of working out. 

Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP) is one of several nonprofit organizations awarded funding from the Team Kentucky Nonprofit Assistance Fund in January. 

It’s early afternoon and rain is falling in Pineville as Tessa Caldwell enters the Bell-Whitley Kentucky Career Center. She is not far removed from an all-night shift at her job, but her smile widens as she starts to talk about the work she is doing. 

The Eastern Kentucky Workforce Innovation Board (EKWIB) elected new leadership for the new year as Sonya Bergman and Frank Dawahare are set to begin terms as chair and vice chair, respectively.

The rain sounded like water being dropped out of buckets onto the metal roof of Joan Reed’s house. It was 12:30 a.m. on July 28, 2022, and the downpour had continued nonstop since the day before.