Signed into law in July 2014 by President Barack Obama, The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) guides the structure and delivery of job training and re-employment programs administered by the nation’s workforce development system—including the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP) and Kentucky’s nine other Local Workforce Investment Areas, as well as the commonwealth’s workforce system. In effect, WIOA reauthorizes the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) that has provided funding to states and workforce organizations for jobs programs since signed by President Bill Clinton in 1998.
Federal funding for these programs is handed down to the state level and distributed between the Workforce Innovation Boards in each area, which then distribute it to regional funding management agencies like Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP).
Jobseekers and employers can encounter WIOA assistance by first interacting with a variety of services and programs offered through EKCEP and its Kentucky Career Center JobSight network’s service delivery model in the region.
These include: Job Clubs of Eastern Kentucky, Teleworks USA, Hiring Our Miners Everyday (H.O.M.E.), and our Employer Services, among others.