NKyTribune staff
Boone County Schools has been awarded $6.8 million from the Work Ready Schools Advisory Committee from funds focused on elevating the Commonwealth’s workforce training capacity.
Heiner
Brighton Center was also awarded $227,213.
The Work Ready Skills Advisory Committee, which was formed to review and select proposals, awarded more than $65.5 million to 25 Kentucky projects on Jan. 31 in its first round of funding.
“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.”
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 organizations selected for funding by the Work Ready Skills Advisory Committee (click to enlarge)
“The response to the Work Ready Skills Initiative has been truly astounding,” said Gov. Matt Bevin. “This important initiative is a key component in our pursuit to make Kentucky the nation’s premier engineering and manufacturing hub of excellence. This historic investment in training our workforce will truly be transformative for the Commonwealth.”
The 25 projects are spread across all 10 local workforce areas, with awards ranging from $30,780 – $15.2 million. The 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 committee was very impressed with the high quality of applications from across the state. All of the projects are driven by teams of local leaders from high schools, government, postsecondary schools and companies that are working together, some for the first time, to prepare their citizens for careers in high-demand careers. I really can’t imagine a better investment in the future of Kentucky than the Work Ready Skills Initiative,” said Heiner.
In August, the 10-member Work Ready Skills Advisory Committee received 117 pre-applications totaling nearly $565 million in requests. It 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.
“The committee members have volunteered hundreds of hours of their time and done a remarkable job to select these promising projects. I want to thank them for their commitment to Kentucky’s workforce and economic development and to our citizens,” Heiner said.
For more information about the Kentucky Work Ready Skills Initiative, please visit www.KentuckyWorkReady.com.
