Members of the South Central Workforce Development Board stand near two semis with students of a CDL course taught by SKYCTC following a ribbon-cutting that announced the introduction of a CDL class in Barren County. The event was held at Jackie Browning Park in Glasgow on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020.
(BRENNAN CRAIN/WCLU NEWS)
GLASGOW, Ky. – The South Central Kentucky Community and Technical College announced on Tuesday a new partnership with the South Central Workforce Development Board that will enable people in the area to obtain a CDL license.
The announcement was made at Jackie Browning Park, and several community members, as well as officials from SKYCTC and the SCWDB were present.
James Moore, Director of Apprenticeship Programming for SCWDB, said the CDL training effort was prompted after discussions between himself and Micheal Hale, Barren County Judge/Executive.
Throughout those discussions, the need for the program was highlighted through the need for CDL equipped individuals in the job market.
“CDL is the number one job right now. There’s always somebody needing a CDL driver, and it could be here locally or nationally,” Moore said. “Even though it’s nationally, they could still be living here helping with the local economy. All of their money is spent here, even though they may work for a company out of state.”
And the market is needing CDL drivers closer to home than some may think.
“You know, Barren County Road Department, they require CDLs for their dump truck drivers as well as other equipment,” Moore said. “This is a good pipeline for them to receive employees as well.”
Those that have been displaced or face another circumstance may be able to get assistance with their classes, Moore said.
“There’s a lot of different factors involved with it. The best thing for them to do is contact us,” Moore said. “We can determine if they are eligible for funding for that or if they’re not. We can direct them from that point. But there are some barriers that they may have that they may not realize they have that they could get some of this funded for them.”
Oakley Vaughn is the CDL instructor at SKYCTC. Moore said the classes are taught in Barren County.
Barren County became the third county to offer the course in the area. Franklin and Hart Counties are the other counties where the classes are available.
To contact Moore, call his number at (270) 746-7425 or email at james@southcentralworkforceboard.com.