After many years of waiting a local technology and career center is now updated and ready to prepare students for the current job market.
Several business leaders from across the region joined educators, school board members, students, and Kentucky’s Education and Workforce Development Cabinet Secretary Derrick Ramsey for a ribbon cutting at the newly renovated Caldwell Regional Career Center Thursday morning.
Secretary Ramsey wanted to congratulate those involved in the renovations and says that this is a time of celebration for the region as it invests in the future.
Secretary Ramsey also says that the career center is a perfect way to introduce students to a wider range of career paths. The Center will help those who are not interested in pursuing higher education but would rather train and be ready for the workforce after graduation. Through the various trades and technology courses offered at the Center, students will have the ability to be involved in apprenticeships throughout the Commonwealth. Secretary Ramsey says these apprenticeships will allow participants to earn wages while gaining credentials that are equivalent to a two or four-year college degree.
The Career Center, which was previously known as the Area Technology Center, began as the Vocational School in the mid-’70s and had been in need of extensive renovations for decades.
In February 2017 the Caldwell County School District was awarded a $1.5 million grant through the state’s Work Ready Skills Initiative to do the much-needed renovations. However, even though the grant was substantial, the project still needed several million dollars more to be completed, and it was up to the Caldwell County Board of Education to decide how the remaining funds would be raised for the project.
The Board then petitioned the residents of Caldwell County to support the project and the future of students across the region and in April 2017 a nickel tax was passed to help raise funds. Construction on the project began this past summer and was completed in late November.
During the ribbon cutting ceremony, Caldwell County Assistant Superintendent Gretchen Wetzel thanked those Board members who supported the vision for a renovated building but, most importantly, thanked each and every Caldwell County Taxpayer.
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Board Chairman, Mike Traylor, who will be stepping down at the end of this year, expressed that it was an emotional time for him and that everyone in the community is a part of this moment.
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The Caldwell Regional Career Center offers courses in electricity, plumbing, health services, information technology, welding, culinary arts, carpentry, and automotive technology to students in Caldwell, Lyon, Crittenden, Trigg, and Dawson Springs.
(Story By Audrey Lamb/WPKY)
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