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Emerging leaders begin two-year management trainee program

Personnel Cabinet announces GMMTP participants

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 23, 2017) — Twenty-eight state employees have been chosen to participate in the latest Governor’s Minority Management Trainee Program (GMMTP), a two-year professional development program scheduled to begin next month.

Created by executive order in 1995, the class was established to provide guidance and leadership development opportunities for minority employees and to increase the representation of minority managers within state government. This year, 55 employees applied for consideration to the latest class, a near record number. This year’s participants represent the following cabinets or agencies: Justice, Labor, Energy and Environment, Finance and Administration, Health and Family Services, Economic Development, Personnel, Kentucky Retirement Systems, Secretary of State, Department of Education, and Kentucky Board of Nursing. The last GMMTP class was completed in 2014.

“This program helps participants cultivate the skills needed to serve Kentucky’s citizens,” said Personnel Cabinet Secretary Thomas Stephens, whose agency administers the program. “GMMTP has garnered respect and attention from benchmark states as a model for retaining and promoting minorities within government.”

Participants receive in-depth, practical training through online and classroom instruction, on-the-job experience, and special projects.

GMMTP is designed to:

• Recruit exceptional minority employees interested in furthering their career in state government;
• Enhance the skills and leadership potential of those enrolled;
• Engage participants in an exploration of leadership in state government;
• Provide participants with opportunities to network;
• Receive additional career mentoring and coaching from public and private sector professionals;
• Perform community service; and
• Develop a professional portfolio.

Recent program graduate George Scott, a juvenile facility superintendent with the Department of Juvenile Justice, said participating in the GMMTP helped him cultivate leadership skills.

“I learned how to be an effective leader and what the true meaning of leadership in the workplace represents,” Scott said. “I learned there are many effective managing styles, but there are also ineffective approaches to managing people. The GMMTP allowed me to recognize my style of managing, make the proper adjustments, and enhance my skill set as a leader in and outside of the workplace.”

For additional information about the program, including a list of those selected to participate in the 2017 class, please visit the personnel cabinet’s website.