Office of Employment and Training, Department for Workforce Investment
The Kentucky Employment Services is 69 years old.
The national public employment was born in the depth of the depression and formally established June 6, 1933, with the passage of the Wagner-Peyser Act. This Act created a national delivery system that did then and still responds to employer and applicant needs throughout the nation. The federal government began transferring the operation of the offices established in Kentucky to the Commonwealth on April 1, 1937. The last employment office transferred from federal to state leadership on September 30, 1938.
Another important segment to the operation of the employment service was the passage of legislation creating the Unemployment Insurance Program in 1936. From 1936, the Kentucky Unemployment Insurance program has operated hand in hand with the employment service in a joint venture structure. Unemployment contributions were collected from employers and workers beginning with calendar year 1936, and the first check for benefits was issued in Kentucky in 1939. Incidentally, the first check was issued in Kentucky was to the father of one of our current employees. The recipient of this first UI check later became the manager of one of the largest offices in the Commonwealth.
The Office of Employment and Training (OET) is an office of the Department for Workforce Investment and a department of the Education Cabinet. OET is a multifaceted organization that is dedicated to and charged with the responsibility of meeting the Commonwealth’s workforce needs through an efficient customer driven service delivery system for unemployment insurance, labor exchange and labor market information.
The mission of the Kentucky Department for Workforce Investment, Office of Employment and Training is to provide an array of high quality, professional services to employers, job seekers and unemployment insurance claimants that will result in economic stability for the individual and further the economic well being of the Commonwealth.
The vision of the Office is to ensure that all Kentuckians are highly skilled, employed and prepared for a changing global economy. While it is impossible to predict all future changes which will occur within Kentucky state government and society at large, we can safely assume that one thing will not change: there will still be a need to provide re-employment services and temporary income maintenance for unemployed Kentuckians, and to provide employers and job seekers with a cost-effective, efficient labor exchange and source of labor market information which will help promote a strong economy benefiting all of our citizens.
OET direct customers include: Job seekers; employers; local Workforce Investment areas; Cabinet Agencies; Department of Labor; and Kentucky Workforce Investment Board.
OET is divided into two divisions: Division of Workforce and Employment Services (DWES) and the Division of Unemployment Insurance (UI).
Division of Workforce and Employment Services (DWES)
The Division of Workforce and Employment Services (DWES) is dedicated to the preparation of Kentuckians for employment by promoting and fostering a customer driven, integrated workforce development system which encourages and enables individuals to acquire the skills and work attitudes necessary to meet employer requirements for entry, re-entry, and retention in the labor market.
Approximately $64 million a year comes through DWES and most of these funds are passed down to the ten local workforce investment areas across the Commonwealth to provide training and re-employment services to adults, dislocated workers and youth. A customer tracking system was implemented April 1, 2004, to track the number of customers visiting the One Stop Career Centers across the Commonwealth.
Division of Unemployment Insurance (UI)
UI promotes economic stability by providing income maintenance to ease the financial burden for workers who are temporarily unemployed through no fault of their own. Benefits are paid from contributions made by employers.
Key activities of UI are: Collection of Unemployment Tax; Payment of Unemployment Benefits and Hearing of Unemployment Appeals
OET provides the following programs and services:
Job Screening and Referral Services: the Office of Employment and Training (OET) assists employers in obtaining qualified applicants for their job openings, while assisting job seekers in obtaining work in their areas of interest. A computerized job matching system is one tool available to OET staff for this purpose.
Unemployment Insurance (UI): promotes economic stability by providing income maintenance to ease the financial burden for workers who are temporarily unemployed through no fault of their own. Benefits are paid from contributions made by employers.
Kentucky’s Electronic Workplace for Employment Services (KEWES): provides full automation of the Unemployment Insurance activities from maintaining employer contributions through the paying of benefits. The system offers services to employers and claimants and provides an additional call-center option for claimants filing for benefits. KEWES Web site: www.kewes.ky.gov.
Re-employment Services to UI Claimants: provide intensive job search and job placement services to Unemployment Insurance claimants who are permanently dislocated from their most recent employer to help them obtain reemployment as quickly as possible.
Workforce Investment Act Programs (WIA): the Division of Workforce Services is the oversight agency responsible for the administration of federally funded WIA employment and training programs and National Emergency Grants. The program provides training and employment services to adults, youth, and dislocated workers. These services are provided through the One-Stop Career Centers. Web site: http://www.purchaseadd.org/Workforce_Investment_Act/.
Rapid Response: assists employers who are laying off workers or anticipating a business closure. Rapid Response provides information about retraining, job opportunities, filing for unemployment insurance benefits, and other local, state and federal services to the employees who are facing a layoff. Web site: http://kyae.ky.gov/employers/rapidresponse.htm.
Workforce Kentucky - Labor Market Information (LMI): is a comprehensive labor market workforce information system developed by OET. Supported by the Research and Statistics Branch under OET, Workforce Kentucky is an interactive Internet based software system that is the largest source of labor market information in the Commonwealth. Workforce Kentucky is designed to serve employers, job seekers, educators and training providers. Web site: www.workforcekentucky.ky.gov.
Veterans Program: OET complies with the law mandating veterans’ priority in the provision of employment and training services. In addition, the Local Veterans Employment Representatives in the field offices promote the employment of veterans, work with other service providers to recognize and respond to the needs of veteran clients and provide direct services to veteran job seekers, particularly recently separated veterans. The Disabled Veterans Outreach Program specialists located in selected field offices provide intensive services to veterans with barriers to employment who have difficulty finding employment through core services.
Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)/Welfare to Work (WtW) Tax Credit: assists members of certain groups to obtain employment by giving employers an incentive to hire them. This incentive is in the form of a substantial tax credit against federal taxes owed. The amount of the tax credit is based on wages paid and duration of employment. Among those eligible for these programs are certain welfare, food stamps and SSI recipients; persons with disabilities; veterans; ex-felons; and young people who reside in federal empowerment zones, renewal communities and enterprise communities.
Virtual Interviewing/Video Conferencing: provides the capability for employers to globally expand their recruitment and screening process. Using OET’s video conferencing sites and capabilities, employers and job seekers are given the benefit of a face-to-face interview from remote locations.
Alien Labor Migrant Worker Recruitment: helps Kentucky's agricultural and non-agricultural employers recruit and hire migrant and seasonal workers.
Trade Act Program: provides assistance in the form of weekly cash benefits called Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA), training, job search and relocation allowances, and other reemployment services to individuals whose unemployment is linked to increased imports of foreign-made products and relocation of business establishments from the United States to other countries. An eligible individual can also receive Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) and Health Coverage Tax Credits (HCTC).
Unemployment Tax Credit (UTC): provides employers a credit of $100 per eligible hire against their Kentucky income taxes owed for hiring residents who have been unemployed for 60 days prior to hire date and remain on the payroll for at least 180 days during the tax year.
Testing: OET may provide testing services to employers for use in hiring the best-qualified workers for their job openings. OET offers the Tests of Adult Basic Education – Work-Related Foundation Skills (TABE-WF) to determine job seekers’ reading and mathematics functioning levels. In addition, OET may administer a valid test provided by the employer.
Customized Services: address special needs of employers not covered by the services listed above. These services may include such activities as providing facilities for the employer to interview potential workers and sponsoring job fairs. OET offers business services that go beyond soliciting job orders from employers. OET offices have staff that contact employers to determine their needs such as upgrading the skills of their current workforce. They can also discuss programs and services that potentially save employers time and money.
Many OET field offices are housed in One-Stop Career Centers. All remaining Career Centers have access to OET services. For additional information on OET programs and services, contact the OET field office in your area or visit OET’s Web site at www.oet.ky.gov .