For years, the West Kentucky Workforce Board has helped economically shape most the Pennyrile and Jackson Purchase — administering the funds from local, state and federal grants to propel potential employees in the right direction, and sometimes assist those in dire straits.
During Tuesday’s Cadiz Rotary Club meeting, Pennyrile Area Development District and WKWB Training and Data Specialist Tammy Hyde pulled back the curtain on some of the services provided — and how those operations impact the region.
A recent Delta Regional Authority grant, she said, has more leeway from typical state and federal appropriations. It is valued at $500,000 over 24 months.
One of the agency’s top responsibilities, Hyde said, is to organize and liaise local and regional job fairs — which helps provide not only a full platform for the career opportunities in the area, but also paints a full picture for high school graduates and collared veterans alike, who might need their first job, or just a full change of scenery.
Depending on grant funding, which often comes in two-year tranches, Hyde said that short-term programs like welding are extremely feasible, and that two-year study programs are also possible.
Master’s degrees and Rank I certifications, though, aren’t allowed through this offering, but other educational growth is.
Hyde said that they follow all trainees for a year after they finish programming, just to see if they stay at their job placement and within their pathway.
Hyde confirmed that Tom Sholar, WKWB’s business liaison, is among the several minds at consistent think tanks — working to fill spec buildings all across the organization’s profile.
Right now, Hyde said everybody wants to go to linemen, CDL or healthcare training, and that those are her office’s top requests for connections and certifications.
Other careers, she added, are also part of the west Kentucky jobs map.
The 17 counties served are Ballard, Calloway, Carlisle, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Marshall, McCracken, Muhlenberg, Caldwell, Christian, Crittenden, Hopkins, Lyon, Livingston, Todd and Trigg.
Their website: wkworkforce.work.
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