Workforce
Building a Sustainable and
Resilient Workforce
Service Year Alliance, in partnership with Serve Kentucky, is launching a statewide initiative to strengthen Kentucky’s workforce by expanding service-year opportunities, deepening community impact, and engaging employers as critical partners in talent development.
At a time of strong economic growth and historically low workforce participation—especially across healthcare, emergency services, manufacturing, and logistics—Kentucky faces an urgent need to prepare people for in-demand careers.
Service Year programs offer a proven training ground, equipping participants with practical, job-ready skills while delivering meaningful community benefits. Yet too often, employers are unaware of these programs or the value of engaging with them.
This initiative bridges that gap by building relationships with corporate leaders, community organizations, and state agencies to build awareness, expand programs, and create clear pathways from service to employment across the Commonwealth.
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Our goal is to establish diversified, sustainable funding and partnership models—beyond federal dollars—that enable long-term growth and shared impact for Kentucky’s employers, communities, and future workforce.
​​​​Employee Incentives
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Explore employee tax credits and public benefit alignment.
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Create private sector discount and benefits programs targeting current Service Year participants, similar to veteran and senior discounts.
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Make alumni benefits easy to access.
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Exclusive job board for “Service-Friendly Employer” opportunities.
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Access to free asynchronous online learning platforms that lead to industry-recognized workforce readiness certificates in general skills, as well as specific industries: construction, logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, and IT.
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Education benefits can be connected to employer-based job-readiness and upskilling programs.
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Employer Incentives
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Consolidate existing tax and training credit opportunities for employers:​
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Kentucky Employing Youth (KEY) program: KEY is a state initiative that helps businesses hire young people by offsetting some of their wages and providing structured, work-based learning experiences so employers can build a future talent pipeline at lower risk and cost.
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On-the-Job (OJT) Training: OJT is a program where a business hires a worker and receives temporary wage reimbursement while they learn the job skills they need by doing the actual work at the business’s worksite under supervision.
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Registered Apprenticeships: Registered Apprenticeships are structured “earn-while-you-learn” programs where a business hires workers as employees and they receive paid, supervised on-the-job training plus related classroom instruction, leading to a nationally recognized industry credential and a reliable pipeline of skilled talent for the business.
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Exclusive job board for “Service-friendly employer” opportunities: Businesses have access to post job openings on a proprietary job board specifically for Service Year Alumni, ensuring their postings are seen by skilled job seekers who bring strong work-ready skills such as project management, data and needs assessment, resources coordination, professional communication and outreach, and the ability to work independently in a variety of environments and conditions.
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Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC): WOTC is a federal tax incentive that lets your business reduce its income tax bill when you hire and retain people from certain groups who face barriers to employment.