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Work Lexington reports new Davis Park workforce center activity, grant awards and upcoming expungement clinic
Summary
Work Lexington reported opening Davis Park Workforce Center in January, serving hundreds of jobseekers, awarding a $400,000 workforce grant to eight partners in a two-year cycle, and scheduling an Oct. 30 expungement clinic and a Nov. 13 job fair.
Amy Glasscock and Work Lexington staff presented an annual workforce update to the committee Sept. 16, detailing grant-funded training, the new Davis Park Workforce Center and outreach activities.
Glasscock said the city offered a two-year workforce economic-development grant totaling $400,000 for the July 1, 2024–June 30, 2026 cycle and awarded grants to eight partners; four of the awardees were new to the program (Stable Recovery, the Cable Academy, IEC of the Bluegrass, and Child Care Council of Kentucky). In the first year, the grant partners served 1,618 participants with an average reported starting salary of $16.07, Glasscock said, and that many participants face multiple barriers such as reentry or recovery.
Davis Park Workforce Center, which opened in January, provides drop-in resume and interview assistance; staff reported 182 individuals received workforce services there from Jan. 1 to June 30. Weekly programs include WorkReady Wednesdays (partner presentations on the first and third Wednesdays) and employability-skills sessions on the second and fourth Wednesdays. The center also offers a free community training room that had been used 56 times by 23 different groups through June 30, staff said.
Glasscock described new programming for young people — a three-day Future Healers middle-school career camp held in July for 25 students that included CPR training, hospital-site activities and donated stethoscopes — and announced upcoming events: an expungement clinic at Davis Park on Oct. 30 and a job fair at the Charles Young Center on Nov. 13. She also described partnership supports for participants facing barriers to employment, including transportation and childcare resources provided through partner agencies and a local “restart” program that can assist with bus passes and identification for those in recovery or reentry.
Committee members asked about employer follow-up and retention supports for placed workers; staff said they are improving tracking and follow-up and that Jubilee Jobs helps sustain contact with placements. Members also asked whether training pathways can move participants into higher-paying, longer-term careers; staff pointed to partners such as the Cable Academy (IT and cybersecurity training) as examples that can move participants beyond entry-level positions.
Ending
Glasscock said staff will continue to expand outreach and partner coordination and provide follow-up data to council members who requested metrics on outcomes and retention.
