New Skills for Youth Kentucky

The Vision of Kentucky New Skills for Youth

Regionalized Governance and Delivery of CTE that:

• is employer-led through regional workforce areas and ensures cross-institutional involvement,

• encompasses career pathways that have seamless transitions from secondary to postsecondary education,

• involves shared resources and funding among all partners, and

• provides valuable industry certifications and credentials that are recognized by business and industry

 The foundation of Kentucky’s New Skills for Youth work is based on the Southern Regional Education Board Report (SREB Report) and the Kentucky Career and Technical Education Funding Analysis.

​Phase 1

The Kentucky Department of Education received a $100,000 grant through the New Skills for Youth (NSFY) initiative in May 2016. These funds were made available through generous support of JP Morgan Chase & Co. with a five-year, $75 million program to connect students to in-demand careers. Twenty-four states and Washington, D.C. secured grants through Phase 1 of New Skills for Youth, a collaboration of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), JP Morgan Chase and Advance CTE that supports states as they work to align career-focused education with high-skill, high-demand jobs. The Phase 1 application was based on six Career Readiness Objectives.

Phase 2

In January 2017, after a rigorous review process, which included examination of the state’s plan to transform how it designs and develops career preparedness education programs; Kentucky was awarded a $2 million New Skills for Youth Grant.

The New Skills for Youth grant funds are being distributed in Kentucky through a competitive grant process consisting of three rounds that will take place from 2017 to 2019.

The Kentucky New Skills For for Youth (NSFY) Initiative incentivizes the opportunity for local districts to transition state-operated area technical centers and locally-operated technical centers into regional academies. Accomplished through the collaboration of two or more school districts, a technical center, a postsecondary partner, a community partner, and employer engagement, this initiative seeks to transform the delivery of career and technical education in Kentucky by:

• Increasing student access to dual credit opportunities and seamless postsecondary pathways

• Allowing students to earn industry recognized credentials

• Providing students Work-Based Learning (WBL) experiences

• Including career pathways leading to the top 5 industry sectors, as identified by the Kentucky Center for Education & Workforce Statistics (KCEWS).

Each planning grant recipient will be eligible for up to $115,000.

New Skills for Youth: Creating Pathways for Success

Across the country, states are already making progress by enlisting employers as key partners, improving the quality of career pathways in K-12 through higher education, and holding themselves accountable for making sure that all kids in all schools have a meaningful opportunity to prepare for a career.

This Career Readiness Compilation Video highlights several examples of how state education leaders and business leaders are working to improve career pathways for all students.

Click on the following link to see the Top 120  Occupations in the Top 5 Industry Sectors in Kentucky.