Johnathon Turner was excited when the Success Xpress—a mobile miner training facility built into a 53-foot truck trailer—rolled into the Clay County Area Technology Center.

That is because Turner, 16, said he already knows he wants a coal-mining career, following the same path that several members of his family have already taken.

“We’re born with coal mining in our blood here,” Turner said. “It’s what I want to do.”

The Success Xpress is giving Turner and nearly 200 other students from Clay County High School a chance to experience the computer-generated sights and sounds of underground coal mining while operating some of the coal industry’s most advanced training simulators.

Turner donned the Success Xpress’ virtual-reality headset and controlled a simulated continuous mining machine in a three-dimensional underground mine. After commanding the machine’s spinning metal teeth as they tore down almost 14 tons of coal in less than five minutes, Turner flashed a proud smile.

“That’s not bad for my first time,” he said. “I really liked that.”

The Success Xpress is owned and operated by the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP), Inc., a nonprofit agency that administers workforce development programs in eastern Kentucky.

The Success Xpress can be driven to remote coal mines, colleges, schools, or any other location in eastern Kentucky where mining training is needed. This mobility allows students like those at the Manchester center to get an early look at coal mining while in high school. It also allows working miners to train on the Success Xpress for certifications in essential high-skill positions (mine electricians, METs, equipment operators, foremen, etc.) at their work sites, reducing the impact of training on their companies’ productivity.

The Success Xpress’ distance learning technology allows mining courses to be taught by highly qualified instructors at remote locations and transmitted to students in the mobile classroom. Remote-controlled cameras in the classroom allow the class to interact with the remote instructor in real time. The Success Xpress classroom also includes wireless connectivity that provides internet access at nine computer workstations.

While working with the region’s coal operators is the Success Xpress’ top priority, working with high school students who might be considering careers in coal is also a key part of the Success Xpress’ mission to help the coal industry replenish its dwindling and aging workforce, according to David Ruth, EKCEP Coal Mining Services coordinator.

“We’re pleased to partner with the Clay County Area Technology Center to provide its students access to the Success Xpress’ state-of-the-art technology,” Ruth said. “Many of these students will become key in the future of coal mining in our area, and it is incumbent upon us to bring training to them that will prepare them to become safe and productive miners.”

Since late December, the Success Xpress has also trained working miners and students in Harlan, Letcher, Martin, Perry and Pike counties. The Success Xpress recently completed a two-week stay at the Belfry Area Technology Center in Pike County during which more than 200 students from two high schools spent time at the controls of the facility's continuous mining machine simulator. (Click here for comments from others on how the Success Xpress is being received in various locations in eastern Kentucky.)

Each of the Clay County Area Technology Center’s nearly 200 students will get a chance to spend time at the controls of the Success Xpress’ computer mining simulator during the week-long stay, according to Anthony Young, an instructor at the center.

Young, a former miner, said he hopes the Success Xpress’ visit will help clear up some misconceptions about the industry some of his students might have.

“I know that some of them are thinking that coal mining still means working with picks and shovels,” Young said. “But it’s an industry based on high technology now, and (the Success Xpress) is showing them that.”

Eugene Hensley, principal of the Clay County Area Technology Center, said coal mining is a viable career option for the center’s students since a large number of Clay Countians work in mines in nearby Perry and Leslie counties. The technology skills many of those students already have learned will aid them in training for underground mining careers on simulators like those in the Success Xpress, he said.

“Kids grow up today with computers and video games, and those skills will help them if they’re interested in coal mining,” Hensley said.

In addition to its state-of-the-art computer classroom and three-dimensional mining simulator, the Success Xpress also features a hands-on lab area with electrical training panels exactly like those on actual mining equipment.

The Success Xpress was created with a portion of EKCEP’s share of a $3.1 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. The grant was awarded to EKCEP and the West Kentucky Workforce Investment Board (WKWIB) in December 2005 to train new miners and upgrade the skills of experienced miners in the state’s eastern and western coalfields. The grant was awarded under the President’s High Growth Job Training Initiative, as implemented by the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration.

Based in Hazard, EKCEP administers government employment and training programs and employer services in 23 rural mountain counties, including the entire eastern Kentucky coalfields. EKCEP also administers the JobSight network of workforce centers, which provide access to a dozen government workforce programs for job seekers and employers.

The Center for Rural Development is a participating partner, designing and coordinating the Success Xpress’ distance-learning technology.

The Success Xpress is scheduled to travel to Knott, Martin, and Lawrence counties in the coming weeks for stops at additional high schools.

For additional information on booking the Success Xpress for a visit to a mining operation, high school, vocational and technical school, or any other location, contact Crawford Blakeman at 606-436-5751.