Home » More than $65.5M awarded to 25 Kentucky Work Ready Skills Initiative projects

More than $65.5M awarded to 25 Kentucky Work Ready Skills Initiative projects

Jefferson Community & Technical College receives $15.2 million

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Feb. 1, 2017) — The Work Ready Skills Advisory Committee, formed to review and select proposals to elevate the commonwealth’s workforce training capacity, has awarded more than $65.5 million to 25 Kentucky projects in its first round of funding.

Launched in July 2016, the $100 million Kentucky Work Ready Skills Initiative is aimed at developing a highly trained, modernized workforce to meet the needs of employers, grow the state’s economy and promote sustainable incomes for Kentuckians.

The 25 projects are spread across all 10 local workforce areas, ranging from $30,780 to $15.2 million. Projects include construction and renovation of facilities and the purchase of new equipment aimed at providing workforce training and education in Kentucky’s top five growth sectors of advanced manufacturing, transportation and logistics, business services and information technology, healthcare and construction trades.

“The Work Ready Skills Initiative has created a tremendous buzz and energy around the whole state among employers, educators and elected officials,” said Education and Workforce Development Cabinet Secretary Hal Heiner, who chairs the committee. “Everywhere I go, people are excited about the opportunity to improve their communities through education and careers in technology in high-demand sectors. These great jobs are waiting to be filled by qualified Kentuckians and that’s what this initiative is all about.”

In August, the 10-member Work Ready Skills Advisory Committee received 117 pre-applications totaling nearly $565 million in requests. They spent the last six months reviewing proposals and interviewing applicants from across Kentucky to select the recipients. A second round will award about $34 million later this year.

Selected for funding:

  • Allen County Career & Technical Center – $328,700
  • Barren County Board of Education – $6,840,000
  • Bluegrass Community & Technical College – Danville – $2,736,000
  • Bluegrass Community & Technical College – Leestown – $3,040,000
  • Boone County Schools – $6,840,000
  • Bowling Green High School – $77,520
  • Brighton Center, Inc. – $227,213
  • Caldwell County Schools – $1,520,000
  • Corbin Independent Schools – $382,149
  • Green County Board of Education – $1,520,000
  • Hazard Community & Technical College – $2,888,000
  • Jefferson Community & Technical College – $15,200,000
  • Jessamine County Schools – $760,000
  • KCEOC Community Action Partnership – $1,824,000
  • KY Tech – Warren County Area Technology Center – $557,726
  • Lee County Area Technology Center – $30,780
  • Martin County Area Technology Center – $2,736,000
  • MMRC Regional Industrial Development Authority / Maysville CTC – $1,140,000
  • Nelson County Area Technology Center – $64,526
  • Owensboro Community & Technical College – $2,858,244
  • Paducah Public Schools – $3,800,000
  • Shelby County Schools – $3,233,049
  • Somerset Community College – $3,800,000
  • Southcentral Community & Technical College – $179,000
  • West Kentucky Community & Technical College – $3,040,000