Jefferson Scholarships: Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship Grant

The Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship (WRKS) provides financial assistance to Kentucky residents who have not earned an associate’s degree, enabling them to pursue industry-recognized certificates or diplomas. This scholarship is aimed at supporting students in high-demand fields such as healthcare, construction, and manufacturing, ensuring they have the opportunity to gain valuable qualifications. With a focus on accessibility, WRKS helps alleviate the financial burden of education for eligible students across the state.

Note: Here are the other Jefferson Scholarships: Evolve 502 Scholarship and Jefferson Jump-Start Grant.
Jefferson Community and Technical College is proud to offer a variety of scholarships thanks to the generosity of the college, businesses, donors, and foundation organizations.
Here at Jefferson, we value education and want all students to take advantage of the scholarship opportunities that are available to them.
The Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship (WRKS) helps Kentuckians who have not yet earned an associate’s degree obtain an industry-recognized certificate, diploma, or an associate of applied science degree. The WRKS program is available to college students.
Approved Programs of Study
Academic programs of study that have been approved for WRKS are those that lead to an industry-recognized certificate, diploma, or Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in one of Kentucky’s top five high-demand workforce sectors — currently Construction, Education, Healthcare, Manufacturing and Logistics, and Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services.
Comprehensive Transition and Postsecondary (CTP) programs are also approved for the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship.
Award Amount
The amount of WRKS scholarship a student can receive is the amount remaining after subtracting federal and state grants and scholarships from the tuition and fees assessed by the student’s eligible institution.
The maximum award amount shall not exceed the in-state tuition and fees rate for enrollment at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.
The amount awarded for fees shall not exceed $400 per year.

Eligibility

To be eligible for WRKS, a college student must:
Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.Be a Kentucky resident.Be a high school graduate or be enrolled in or have completed a General Educational Development (GED) Program.Have not earned an associate’s or higher degree.Be enrolled, or accepted for enrollment, at an eligible postsecondary institution in an approved program of study that leads to an industry recognized certificate or diploma or Associates of Applied Science (AAS) degree in a high-demand workforce sector or comprehensive transition and postsecondary (CTP) program.Qualifying areas for the 2025-2026 year are Construction, Education, Healthcare, Manufacturing and Logistics, and Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services.Not be enrolled in an ineligible degree program, such as a bachelor or other associate program, at the same or any other institution.Maintain satisfactory academic progress as determined by the eligible postsecondary institution.Not be in default on any Title IV program or KHEAA administered program.
Eligibility expires when the first of the following conditions is met:

• Receipt of scholarship funding for sixty (60) credit hours of enrollment; orReceipt of a first associate’s degree

The scholarship is not income or GPA based. No essay is required.