The Workforce Participation Framework: A Practitioner’s Tool For Community College Leaders Servicing Post-Industrial Appalachian Communities

Workforce participation rates in Boyd and Greenup counties of Northeast Kentucky have remained persistently below state and national benchmarks, with rates of 52.8% and 49.6% respectively against a national average of 62.3%. This qualitative documentary study examined what documentary evidence reveals about workforce participation in these two counties through the combined lens of Human Capital Theory, Social Capital Theory, and Economic Self-Sufficiency Theory. Analyzing 21 purposively selected documentary sources spanning January 2022 through January 2025 across five hierarchical document levels, and employing Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase thematic analysis model, the study identified six themes: credential mismatch and workforce alignment; caregiving and family responsibilities; infrastructure barriers in transportation and broadband; institutional responses and regional coordination; job quality, wages, and economic self-sufficiency; and cross-framework insights regarding policy, perception, and the meaning of work. Findings reveal that each theory explains a portion of the problem but none is sufficient in isolation. Human capital investment is undermined by credential and wage mismatch. Social capital networks are fragmented institutionally despite strong informal ties. Economic self-sufficiency thresholds are rarely achievable given prevailing wage structures. This study proposes the Workforce Participation Framework – organized around three intersecting dimensions of capacity, connection, and adequacy – as a practitioner-oriented tool for community college leaders. The Framework is not offered as theory but as a structured lens for aligning institutional strategy with the actual conditions workers face. Implications for community college practice, policy, and future research are discussed.