New campaign aims to prepare Kentuckians to fill positons in high-demand fields 

Kentuckians now have access to more resources to prepare for jobs in critical, high-demand fields such as healthcare, IT, advanced manufacturing, construction, and logistics. 

On Wednesday, the Kentucky Education and Workforce Cabinet announced a new campaign to connect Kentuckians with the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship, which can fund the completion of a certificate or diploma needed to pursue an eligible career. 

The scholarship program was announced in December by Gov. Matt Bevin, and on Thursday, the Kentucky Education and Workforce Cabinet Sec. Hal Heiner unveiled the new Help Wanted campaign to provide Kentuckians with information about the most in-demand business sectors and connect them to the scholarship opportunities to have their training and education paid for. 

Sec. Heiner was joined by Kentucky Community and Technical College System President Dr. Jay Box and UPS Air District Vice President Joe Boyle who also spoke about workforce initiatives.  

Potential recipients can now log onto helpwantedky.com to learn more about the scholarship-eligible career paths by reviewing job descriptions and salary ranges for particular jobs. The site also lists participating colleges and universities most of which are in the Ky. Community and Technical College System. Kentuckians can also hear testimony from employers in the eligible fields about their needs for additional workers, the most important skills their workers should possess, and the certificates needed to work in the field. ​

Certain conditions must be met to receive the scholarship and funding is available on a first come first serve basis. The site can be used to access a scholarship application as well as an application for federal aid.  

Kentucky’s workforce participation rate ranks 4th lowest in the nation and lags behind the national average. Kentucky would need to add 165,000 people to the workforce to reach the national average rate, yet many businesses state they cannot find workers with the right skill set to fill the numerous vacancies. The Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship can help Kentuckians develop the skills they need to fill those vacancies.          

Find out more about the Help Wanted campaign here.