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.

Follow the Kentucky Labor Cabinet on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest updates.

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