EKCEP Workforce Boards Meet in Hazard to Advance Regional Development

The Eastern Kentucky Council of Elected Officials and the Eastern Kentucky Workforce Innovation Board gathered in Hazard on Sunday to advance workforce development across a 23-county Appalachian region, reinforcing commitments to employer engagement, regional collaboration, and career center accessibility under federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act mandates.

The meeting brought together EKCEP and EKWIB leadership alongside partners operating out of Hazard, including the LKLP Community Action Council, which runs the Kentucky Career Center JobSight at 398 Roy Campbell Drive. Rick Baker serves as LKLP's executive director, with Abbie Little managing the JobSight center day to day. The JobSight location was procured by the EKWIB to serve as the region's comprehensive one-stop operator.

A central thread of the convening was EKCEP's role in SOAR, the regional economic planning initiative that has brought together economic development, workforce, education, private business, and government in what organizers describe as "unprecedented collaboration." SOAR's stated aim is to guide regional leaders toward a shared economic vision and map the steps needed to achieve it. EKCEP has deepened working relationships with Kentucky Highlands Investment Corp., MACED, One East Kentucky, One Harlan County, and the Hazard/Perry County Economic Development Alliance as part of that effort.

Under WIOA, local workforce development boards are required to lead employer engagement across a diverse range of industries. EKCEP's Business Engagement and Services Team is committed to fulfilling that mandate through face-to-face meetings with business owners and leaders to identify current and future workforce needs. The team also coordinates quarterly collaborative meetings that bring together state business-services staff, employers, workforce system partners, education and training providers, and other stakeholders to keep the region's workforce pipeline aligned with employer demand.

Separate from employer engagement, EKCEP has formalized its coordination with the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation through signed Memoranda of Understanding and attendant Infrastructure Funding Agreements. Those documents establish the framework for cross-training staff, sharing information, providing technical assistance, and coordinating directly with employers to improve services for individuals with disabilities. The regional OVR manager holds active membership on both the EKCEP and TENCO workforce boards, a role described as integral to making career centers throughout the region accessible and navigable for people with disabilities.

EKCEP operates as the designated Local Workforce Development Board and Local Workforce Innovation Area fiscal agent, headquartered at 100 Airport Gardens Road, Suite 300, in Hazard. The organization's leadership listings in available documents include both Jeff Whitehead and Rebecca Carnes-Miller as executive director, as well as dual listings for board chairpersons, reflecting records from different document versions that could not be reconciled before publication. Current leadership should be confirmed directly with EKCEP before those names are treated as definitive.