Carter Countian Lindsey Spurlock’s Journey Through Northeast Career Services to Impact Young Lives

Lindsey Spurlock had just completed school at Maysville Community and Technical College (MCTC), where she earned a degree in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education in winter 2021. She wasn’t having luck finding a job in her chosen field, so when she found out about the career services offered through the Northeast Kentucky Career Center JobSight in her native Carter County, it seemed like a good fit to provide an assist in her job search.

Lindsey Spurlock

“I wanted to enroll in Northeast’s career services to become employed and start helping young children,” Spurlock said.  

 Spurlock quickly began working with Career Advisor Amanda Hanshaw at the career center in Olive Hill, Ky., where she determined Spurlock was eligible to enroll for services in the career center’s out-of-school youth program.

 A partner in the Kentucky Career Center JobSight network of workforce centers, Northeast Kentucky Community Action Agency (NKCAA) provides Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) services in Carter, Elliott, and Lawrence counties under contract with Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP). Those services include programs for adults, dislocated workers, and youth between the ages of 18 and 24 who may need assistance honing skills such as résumé building or networking with local employers, or who need assistance being retrained or going to school. 

 Hanshaw helped Spurlock determine whether she wanted to further her education or work toward gaining employment, and was able to secure a work experience position for Spurlock with NKCAA’s weatherization program. As part of her enrollment in the work experience program, JobSight helped cover Spurlock’s wages while she gained experience working on the job. She later transferred to a work experience position at the agency’s Head Start program, while Hanshaw continued to assist Spurlock with building her résumé and submitting applications for other positions.

 This gave Spurlock the opportunity to train with an employer and get her foot in the door to secure a full-time job, and after a few weeks landed a position with Northeast’s Head Start program, where she could apply both her education and new on-the-job experience as an Early Head Start Teacher.

 “If the services at Northeast were not available to me, I would possibly be working at another job not in my career path, and I know I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as I enjoy my current job,” Spurlock said.

 Spurlock added that anyone who may be looking for a new job or career could also benefit from the services available at their local Kentucky Career Center JobSight.

 “I would definitely recommend Northeast and the services they provide,” she said. “They have been amazing to work with to help me get started in my career.”  

 If you live in Eastern Kentucky and are interested in applying for career and employment services, visit jobsight.org/locations to find your nearest Kentucky Career Center JobSight and contact a career advisor to get started. 

 EKCEP, a nonprofit workforce development agency headquartered in Hazard, Ky., serves the citizens of 23 Appalachian coalfield counties. The agency provides an array of workforce development services and operates the Kentucky Career Center JobSight network of workforce centers, which provide access to more than a dozen state and federal programs that offer employment and training assistance for job seekers and employers all under one roof. Learn more about us at http://www.ekcep.org, http://www.jobsight.org and http://www.facebook.com/ekcep.