Barren County Judge
Executive’s Office and Barren County School District
Launch New Youth Apprenticeship Programs
GLASGOW, Ky. (May. 9, 2018) – Labor Secretary Derrick Ramsey joined Barren County Judge
Executive Michael Hale, local government officials, and representatives from the Barren
County School District to announce the creation of three new youth
apprenticeship programs.
The Barren County Judge Executive’s
Office has created the Office Management apprenticeship program, while the
Barren County School District will now offer apprenticeships in Culinary Arts
and Transportation Maintenance.
“Today’s announcement showcases how
education, business and government can come together to offer an innovative
solution at the local level,” Labor Sec. Derrick Ramsey stated. “Today isn’t my
first time in Glasgow to announce a new apprenticeship program, and I have a
funny feeling this won’t be the last time either. Simply put, Glasgow and
Barren County understand the value of apprenticeships and what they mean for
growing and keeping skilled workers here at home. I want to congratulate Judge
Hale and the Barren County School Superintendent Bo Matthews for being
proactive in their efforts to create good jobs here in Barren County, and I’m excited
to welcome them to the ‘Kentucky Trained. Kentucky Built’ family of
apprenticeships.”
"This is a perfect example of
how public education can provide unique and meaningful learning experiences for
young people,” Barren County Schools Superintendent Bo Matthews said. “The new
apprenticeship program will provide a great foundation for students to enter a
career pathway in addition to earning a nationally recognized certification. There
is urgency in Barren County Schools to find a pipeline to success for all
students, and apprenticeship will offer an innovative learning opportunity to
help meet this goal."
Each Registered Apprenticeship will
be available to high school juniors and seniors and will be a two-year program,
requiring 144 classroom and 2,000 on-the-job training hours per year. Both the
Office Management and Culinary Arts apprenticeships will use classroom
instruction space at Barren County High School, while the Transportation
Maintenance apprenticeship will utilize instructional space at the Barren
County Career and Technical Center.
“The Barren County community has
embraced the concept of apprenticeship and investing early in our future
workforce,” Judge Hale said. “We appreciate the support of the Labor Cabinet in
launching these programs that have such profound impact on our youth and
community.”
Caroline Billingsley is currently
apprenticing with the Barren County Judge Executive’s Office and is in her
senior year at Barren County High School.
“Becoming an apprentice with the
Barren County Judge Executive’s Office has been a life-changing experience,”
Billingsley said. “Not only have I had the opportunity to learn skills, but
also to be challenged to lead initiatives and serve my community. I know in my
future this experience will help me grow professionally, and hopefully I will
be able to give back to my community in many ways."
Citing the importance of on-the-job
training in today’s economy, local state legislators Sen. David Givens
(Greensburg) and Rep. Steve Riley (Glasgow) also praised today’s announcement.
“Apprenticeship programs are an
innovative approach to education that offer hands-on learning not always
readily available in a classroom or a normal education setting,” Sen. Givens
said. “I am proud of our Barren County Schools and the Barren County Judge
Executive's Office for partnering with our community to realize these programs,
and I look forward to the ongoing success of these programs and their
students.”
“I'm thrilled that these new, exciting
programs are happening in Barren County,” Rep.
Riley stated. “Getting real world work experience as early as possible is
incredibly important in today's economy. Barren County residents, especially
younger generations, will greatly benefit from these programs.”
The Labor Cabinet acts as the governing body for Registered
Apprenticeships in Kentucky, and provides technical and consultative services
to employers. “Kentucky Trained. Kentucky Built.” was launched in 2016 and is a
campaign to signal the Labor Cabinet’s commitment to committing new energy and
resources to strengthen and grow Registered Apprenticeships across the
Commonwealth. For more information, visit Labor.KY.gov.
Additional information is available at http://labor.kentucky.gov.
Follow the Kentucky Labor Cabinet on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest updates.
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