EKCEP Executive Director Mable Duke received a check for $250,000 in Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Statewide Employment & Training funds from Governor Ernie Fletcher. The additional funds will be used to train incumbent workers in the coal industry.

Incumbent worker training allows workers who currently have a job to upgrade their skills to meet their employers' needs. This training fills a gap left by many federal training programs, which focus exclusively on the unemployed.

"Mines are having a very difficult time meeting the demands for production because of a lack of certified maintenance workers and certified underground electricians. The coal industry needs to upgrade the qualifications of experienced miners to fill these positions. The shortage of miners with these skills prevents mine operators from increasing production and hiring additional new miners.

These are eastern Kentucky jobs that cannot be outsourced and the skills the miners will learn are highly transferable to other industries and occupations," Duke said.

"We are pleased to receive this funding to meet an urgent workforce need. As always, EKCEP will use a portion of its WIA funds to address the training and placement needs of new employees; these additional funds give us an opportunity to address a very important training issue for imcumbent workers," Duke continued.

Workforce Investment Commissioner Laura E. Owens participated in the presentation.

For information about the certified maintenance worker and certified underground electrician training program, employers should contact Crawford Blakeman at EKCEP (606-436-5751, ext. 13). Interested job seekers should conact Ken Enochs at EKCEP (606-436-5751, ext. 35).