Located in:
- III. Operational Planning Elements
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include an Operational Planning Elements section that supports the State’s strategy and the system-wide vision described in Section II(c) above. Unless otherwise noted, all Operational Planning Elements apply to Combined State Plan partner programs included in the plan as well as to core programs. This section must include—
- a. State Strategy Implementation
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include–
- 2. Implementation of State Strategy
Describe how the lead State agency with responsibility for the administration of each core program or a Combined Plan partner program included in this plan will implement the State’s Strategies identified in Section II(c). above. This must include a description of—
- 2. Implementation of State Strategy
- a. State Strategy Implementation
III. a. 2. D. Coordination, Alignment and Provision of Services to Employers
Describe how the entities carrying out the respective core programs, any Combined State Plan partner program included in this plan, required and optional one-stop partner programs will coordinate activities and resources to provide comprehensive, high-quality services to employers to meet their current and projected workforce needs and to achieve the goals of industry or sector partners in the state. The activities described shall conform to the statutory requirements of each program.
Current Narrative:
The Department of Workforce Investment (DWI) in partnership with local and state workforce organizations is dedicated to providing proactive business services and industry skills development. Through local Kentucky Career Center Business Service networks, this partnership has laid a foundation for coordinated business services that leverage the assets of the Office of Employer and Apprenticeship Services (OEAS).
Kentucky Career Center Business Services offer a streamlined approach to assisting businesses with recruiting talent, training new and existing employees, and developing tomorrow’s workforce. At its core, the Business Service strategy consists of five primary organizations who provide direct resources and services to businesses:
• Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDB)
• Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet (EWDC)
• Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development (CED)
• The Kentucky Chamber’s Workforce Center (Workforce Center)
• Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS)
These partnering agencies strive to provide unified, efficient, quality and seamless workforce services and resources to new, existing and expanding companies within the Commonwealth.
The Kentucky Career Center Business Service strategy has four primary components:
• Identify a single point of contact for business development within each WIOA region
• Streamline workforce resource delivery
• Unify and coordinate outreach and information
• Leverage multiagency data sharing systems
The Kentucky Career Center Business Service employers’ strategic objectives are:
• Create a valued workforce development system for employers.
• Establish a clear channel for employer engagement in workforce development services.
• Increase the number of employers participating in work-based learning experiences and apprenticeships, while also establishing employer champions.
• Engage employers in education efforts from P-12 through postsecondary study.
• Leverage employer data on workforce projections and training needs, using the talent pipeline management process of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the local area business service network.
Successful employer engagement in the workforce system would include:
• An increase in employer engagement in education and workforce development, scaling to 3x current levels and mirroring that of neighboring states
• A projected (5x) increase in the number of registered apprenticeships and work-based learning opportunities sponsored by employers
• An established set of best practice industry exposure experiences aligning P-12 delivery with industry needs in local workforce regions
• At least 40% of Kentucky youth participating in work-based learning during their P-12 years to gain invaluable exposure to workplace skills early in life
• Streamlined business services team efforts by workforce region which focus on business retention and expansion via quality delivery of workforce services
• Establishment of 50 localized statewide talent pipeline management system consortia, which assist in delivery of real-time data, allowing for better alignment of supply and demand in the workforce
The structure of the business service is comprised of three categories: resource alignment, employer engagement, and service delivery. Category one consists of one representative from each of the state-level core partners. These agencies collaborate to ensure state administered employer resources are aligned so that companies receive unified and coordinated information and services related to their workforce development plan points.
Category two includes the local Business Services team leads as well as OEAS workforce consultant staff dedicated to employer engagement as the primary function of their job. These organizations must work together to ensure that companies receive unified and coordinated information and services related to their workforce development needs. All partners also coordinate with their regional and local colleagues to ensure there is shared information among agencies.
Category three consists of the state team that includes core partners from the EWDC, CED, KCTCS, and the Workforce Center. These organizations are responsible for delivering resources and services to employer customers.
Additional partners such as the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) and Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) – Career & Technical Education (CTE) serve in support roles at the local and state level in order to provide opportunities for employers to participate in curriculum development. Particularly, the use of the WIN career readiness system allows a consistent and holistic approach to career readiness with both cognitive and essential soft skill development from secondary through postsecondary education.
The partnership brings together workforce and economic development programs and resources, thus providing a variety of ways to build workforce skills and ease training costs for employers. Kentucky has resources that allow flexible and customizable training specific to company needs, through such options as reimbursable grants and tax credits for classroom training, on-the-job training, tuition and certification training, entry-level and skills-upgrade training. Additional support comes through incentives targeting job seekers with barriers, such as Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), Federal Bonding, Kentucky Unemployment Tax Credit, and partner specific workforce solutions.
In 2018, the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet (EWDC) announced the transition of the Division of Apprenticeship from the Kentucky Labor Cabinet to EWDC’s Office of Employer and Apprenticeship Services within the Department for Workforce Investment. This service, in cooperation with the U.S. Office of Apprenticeship and Training, oversees the Commonwealth’s registered apprenticeship program. The goal of the transition is to increase the program’s momentum by harnessing EWDC’s existing statewide network to connect employers with potential employees and to provide increased apprenticeship opportunities for Kentuckians. There are over 4,000 apprentices in Kentucky in 300+ different programs currently representing 147 unique occupations.
The Registered Apprenticeship model is a flexible, employer-driven approach that provides high-quality job training and produces skilled, competent employees for Kentucky employers. The division is responsible for registering apprenticeship programs that meet federal standards, issuing nationally recognized and portable Certificates of Completion to apprentices, and promoting the development of new programs through marketing and technical assistance.
Core programs and partners gained access to a business customer relationship management system based on a Salesforce platform. Phase 1 allowed shared access to employer contacts and business needs, and Phase 2 gave the partnership the ability to add and assess employer programs and resources. This platform allows the tracking of business engagement and reporting for the aligned goal of furthering business services, and is the tool that encompasses the Kentucky Integrated Business Engagement System (KIBES).
An innovative proactive approach to align business needs to core partner services is realized through data accessible in the Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Market Insight System. This data serves to identify businesses that are either in a growth pattern, a stable state, or on a potential downturn, signaling the necessity for early intervention for layoff aversion strategies. D&B applies two leading indicators of a business’ financial growth outlook:
- Financial Stress Score provides predictive insights of the businesses that are most likely to fail within the next 12-18 months. Conversely, the Financial Stress Score enables strategic targeting of companies in strong financial condition and candidates for expansion leaning incentives
- Material Change/Opportunity Segment follows real-time business activity and operating signals to determine what businesses are demonstrating in the moment growth characteristics or showing signs of contraction or declining business activity
OEAS gathers this real time monthly data from D&B, filtered by LWDB, and distributed accordingly to provide a targeted information for all the local partners to evaluate and initiate business engagement processes.
Further engagement consists of leveraging and expanding the partnership’s efforts. Kentucky expects a great deal of new activity assessing and addressing employer needs via existing partnerships with business organizations like the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, and most importantly, through new strategies and initiatives crafted by the new administration.