By Talia Frye, Workforce
Innovation Director, Brighton Center, Inc.
Did you know that over 6,000 young adults (ages 16-24)
currently living in the eight counties of Northern Kentucky are not connected
to employment or education? That’s right – today, there are thousands of young
adults across Northern Kentucky who are not working and are not in school. This
population is known as Opportunity Youth.
According to the Opportunity Index, in Northern Kentucky during 2016, there
were 6,490 Opportunity Youth, with the majority (5,380 or 82%) in Campbell,
Kenton, and Boone Counties.
Concurrently, Northern Kentucky has the lowest unemployment rate in
Kentucky at 3.6% (February 2019) and the state needs to annually add 165,000
workers to the labor force to meet national labor participation rates. Every person on the sidelines of our labor
force is desperately needed to ensure economic vitality in our region. The education and employment needs for
Opportunity Youth are crucial.
What we believe to be true is that our young adults are not
lacking talent nor are they lacking motivation; in fact, today’s young adults
are extremely intelligent and possess many of the critical skills sought after
by regional employers, who are in desperate need to fill open positions. So,
what’s the solution?
One thing is for certain – the Kentucky Career Center,
Northern Kentucky’s largest, most comprehensive workforce development resource,
is assuming a major role in addressing the issue.
Brighton Center’s Youth Talent Development Services, a Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act program funded by Northern Kentucky Workforce
Investment Board, works with Opportunity Youth to connect them to in-demand
training and/or internships at local businesses in the most high demand
sectors. Youth are comprehensively
supported by their Workforce Coach who can link them to resources in the
community that are impeding their ability to get connected to the workforce
including housing, transportation, mental health, and other basic needs. Youth
Talent Development Services also partners with local high schools to provide
in-demand sector exploration events, resume workshops, and mock employment
interviews.
In addition to Brighton Center’s program, Job Corps is also
present at the Kentucky Career Center and offers a different career training
pathway, for 16-24 year olds, which includes a residential component. Job Corps
graduates either enter the workforce or an apprenticeship, move on to higher
education, or join the military. For more information about Job Corps, visit www.recruiting.jobcorps.gov.
We have every reason to be optimistic, even excited, about
the future of our workforce because we have a pool of young talented
individuals who are eager to make an impact in the world. And, we have an array
of excellent workforce development resources available to help them do just
that. We simply need to do a better job connecting the two.
For more information about Youth Talent Development Services
offered at the Kentucky Career Center, contact Eric Owsley at eowsley@brightoncenter.com or
(859) 292-2642.
The Northern Kentucky Workforce Investment Board
(NKWIB) drives the work of the local Kentucky Career Center system to prepare
and connect qualified job seekers to the hiring needs of regional employers.
For more information, visit www.nkcareercenter.org/workforce-investment-board.