Fresh out of high school, Dean Baldwin had worked stints with a coal truck manufacturer, a natural gas drilling company, and the Johnson County school system before finally deciding to look for a job mining coal.

Baldwin soon discovered that getting into the coal industry is often easier said than done for a person with no mining experience. However, that changed when he was accepted into the Coal Careers Program, an innovative component of the new Kentucky Coal Academy that exposes prospective miners to an extensive 30-week combination of classroom instruction and on-the-job training at local mines.

“If it wasn’t for the program, I wouldn’t have gotten into the coal industry,” Baldwin said. “I was right out of high school and just trying to find a good job, but I got into the program and found my career.”

Baldwin and six other classmates gathered at the Hager Hill Campus of Big Sandy Community and Technical College to mark the conclusion of approximately 1,700 hours of training, done in the classroom and on-the-job at mines operated by Booth Energy and Excel Mining. All of the graduates were offered full-time jobs—three with Booth Energy and four with Excel Mining—after interviews with company officials prior to the graduation.

The Coal Careers Program is being supplemented by funding from the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP). The funds helped cover the training salaries of the first graduating class and will do the same for three other current classes and the planned fifth and sixth classes.

The program is funded through a combined effort between EKCEP, Booth Energy and Excel Mining, Big Sandy Community and Technical College, and the Kentucky Coal Academy, a coal training initiative that also offers courses at Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) locations in Hazard, Madisonville, and Harlan.

In the program, participants are paid as they work to complete their training and they are considered part-time employees of their sponsoring coal companies. Instructors deliver classroom training on mining-related topics like safety and first aid, welding, electricity, and hydraulics alongside classes on business and personal finance, computer operation, and other practical skills. Participants also are trained on high-tech virtual mining simulators that mimic the experience of operating a haul truck, dozer, and loader used in surface mines, and the continuous-mining and roof-bolting machines used in underground mining.

The program alternates blocks of classroom work with hands-on work at actual coal mines. Through both types of training, participants become certified miners, as well as Mine Emergency Technicians (METs), according to Machelle Holbrook, outgoing director of the Coal Careers Program.

“These guys can go anywhere and get certifications, but they can’t get that extra component through their work in the mines that we offer that establishes them as ‘permanent miners,’” Holbrook said, “and they can’t get the specialized training in welding and electricity we offer. They simply become more valuable and safer employees this way, and the possibility exists for them to go right to work with their sponsoring coal company.”

Baldwin said he feels his participation in the program has greatly improved his marketability in the coal industry.

“If you were only hired straight in at a company, it takes you a while to get all this training,” he said. “Instead of just going back into a mine and being bewildered, we kind of expect what is going to go on and have a good idea what we’re going to be doing in there.”

Crawford Blakeman, EKCEP’s Business Solutions manager, said EKCEP is committed to helping the Coal Careers Program succeed because the program is helping address Kentucky’s well-documented need for 3,500 more miners to meet the current high demand for coal.

“This is a case of the workforce system coming together with industry and higher education to meet an acknowledged and well-defined need,” he said. “Recruitment is critical for coal companies right now, and it’s our responsibility to assist in proven efforts that will address that need.”

Based in Hazard, EKCEP is a federally funded non-profit agency that administers the JobSight network of workforce centers in 23 eastern Kentucky counties. At JobSight “one-stop” workforce centers, job seekers and employers can access over a dozen state and federal employment and training programs and employer services in a single location. EKCEP’s Business Solutions services help link employers with the right employees through numerous services, activities, and initiatives.

Blakeman said EKCEP also assisted the program by partnering on a grant awarded through the Kentucky Workforce Investment Network System (WINS), a training incentive program administered by KCTCS.

“The Coal Careers Program satisfies these prospective miners’ desire to work into positions in the coal industry, and helps the coal companies who are partners in the program get trained, qualified employees who they know can mesh well within their operations,” he said. “This effort definitely benefits both sides of the workforce equation.”

Holbrook singled out EKCEP’s support as a vital ingredient in helping keep the program moving in a successful direction.

“EKCEP has helped us in so many ways,” Holbrook said, noting the WINS grant obtained with EKCEP’s support helped the program replace outdated training material and overcome initial limitations in supplies.

“It’s outstanding what we’ve put that funding toward,” she said.

Dennis Hatfield, president of Booth Energy, also recognized EKCEP’s support of the program during the graduation ceremony. He said the program is, “timely, and it addresses a need we have.

“We need skilled, experienced coal miners who can work safe, work smart, and do their jobs,” Hatfield said. “We have the coal, we have the resources, and we need to make it happen. We now have the people, they needed a chance, and we accomplished that with the program.”

Elmer Howard, assistant general manager for Excel Mining, encouraged the graduates by emphasizing how wise an investment their participation in the program will prove to be for their careers in the coal industry.

“Because of the 1,700 hours you spent in the classroom and in training, you will see a seven-figure improvement to your earning potential in your lifetime,” Howard said. “You guys made a tremendous sacrifice to do this, but you’ve made a very wise investment in your careers.”

Dr. Bill Higginbotham, director of the Kentucky Coal Academy, said the Academy is looking to establish similar Coal Careers Programs at other KCTCS campuses in the region in the near future. Higginbotham said the first Junior Coal Academy, which will offer high school students vocational training for coal careers, is slated to open this fall at Lawrence County High School.

For additional information on EKCEP's Business Solutions services, contact Crawford Blakeman at 606-436-5751.