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Business Courier
November 5, 2003
Ky. ranks No. 8 for work-force training
Expansion Management magazine has ranked Kentucky as the eighth-best state
in the nation for work-force training.
According to a news release from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development,
the rankings were based on a number of criteria, including job creation requirements,
funding restrictions, use of local schools for training, employer costs, eligible
industries, payout schedule and wage requirements.
In Kentucky, the Bluegrass State Skills Corp. spearheads work-force training
through partnerships with the Cabinet for Workforce Development, Kentucky Community
and Technical College System and other public and private-sector entities.
"Kentucky's successful training programs demonstrate that the administration
and legislature understand the importance of a well-trained work force,"
said Ken Carroll, executive director of the BSSC, in a news release. "A
company's No. 1 asset is its work force. Therefore, work-force development is
always a priority in economic development."
Expansion Management's Top 15 states for work-force training, in order, are
South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee,
Kentucky, Michigan, Texas, California, Kansas, Delaware, Wisconsin and Mississippi.
The Messenger
November 1, 2003
WorkKeys prepares employees for jobs
Madisonville Community College's WorkKeys Center, which opens Monday, offers
a new way for potential employees to demonstrate their skills.
"This is a new hiring process system," said Professor Judy Moore,
who has coordinated the WorkKeys effort. "Employers are really liking it."
Potential employees will take WorkKeys tests to assess their skill level. Those
who need extra help will be offered free remediation. Those who score above
a certain level will earn Kentucky Employability Certificates.
The program has three purposes.
"One is for the employer to know what kind of employee they're getting,"
Moore said. "Second is for the employee to be able to improve their skills
through the remediation we have available. The third one would be to develop
an economic database of our work force for Hopkins County."
AutoLiv has already used WorkKeys. Job profiling of the entry-level production
associate's position was completed with the help of workers who currently fill
that job. Job profiling determines specific skills needed for a position and
which WorkKeys tests best measure that.
AutoLiv intends to begin using the system to identify candidates for employment,
said Human Resource Manager Alison Sanderson.
"I hope other companies and different community organizations will come
on board and utilize the WorkKeys," she said. "I think it'll be great
for the community. ... I also feel like if we can get this throughout the community,
then we will have a better-educated work force."
Hopkins County government has already committed to use the program when filling
positions.
The database that will be compiled of WorkKeys participants and their skill
levels will be an asset in economic development efforts, said Madisonville-Hopkins
County Economic Development Director Danny Koon.
"This is what's going to prove we have an educated work force," Moore
said.
Koon said, "It will be a tremendous help. The single most important question
of someone coming to our community who's not real familiar with the quality
of our work force is what is the skill level. This would be a database that
would be available not only to our existing industries but to our potential
industries that would show the skill level of the work force in our community."
Owensboro, which has WorkKeys participation of 90 percent of its industries,
has used the database as a recruitment tool, he said.
"It's also a good planning tool for training and skills upgrade for existing
industries and for the individual who's taking the WorkKeys," Koon said.
Most clients of the WorkKeys Center, which is located on School Avenue in the
same building as Adult Centers for Educational Excellence, will be referred
through JobNet. A few, however, are expected to come in on their own. They will
complete the WorkKeys tests through ACE2, which will offer free remediation
to those who need it.
Those who earn WorkKeys scores of four or above in applied mathematics, locating
information and reading for information will receive a Kentucky Employability
Certificate.
About 80 percent of all jobs require those three skills, Moore said.
"There's nothing else out there that measures those skills," she
said. "You have a high school diploma, but it doesn't say what level you
read. ... Employers have a hard time comparing, when they look at an applicant
pool, what they have. This helps give them some guidance as to what a person's
basic skill levels are."
Jamie Jones, who started as a caseworker with the Hopkins County Child Support
Unit two weeks ago, earned the first certificate in Hopkins County. Two others
have since successfully completed the testing.
"I came in for the interview and they wanted me to do the testing just
to find out a little bit more about my abilities," Jones said. "I
think it's a really good idea because you can't know that much about a person's
abilities just in an interview."
Jones' supervisor, Office Manager Sandy Messamore, said it's suggested - but
not required - that applicants take the tests.
"I think it will weigh heavily, the testing, in conjunction with a good
resume and a good interview," Messamore said. "A lot of times during
an interview you can't really determine what a person's skills are. This helps
us better determine whether someone has the necessary skills to perform the
job."
Another person who will start work at the child support unit later this month
also completed the testing, she said.
"I would highly recommend it, not only from an employer perspective but
also from prospective employees' abilities to understand what their strengths
or weaknesses are and determine what they need to brush up on if they're interested
in a certain field of work," Messamore said. "I'm really impressed
with it. I didn't know if I would be or not, but after we got the results, I'm
really impressed with it."
The New-Enterprise
October 31, 2003
Candlelight vigil at ECC remembers and supports victims of domestic abuse
Almost 60 tiny flames flickered in the darkened room, symbolizing hope for
victims and survivors of domestic violence. Every 13 seconds, the silver peals
of a bell rang out, signifying the abuse of another victim.
To commemorate Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Elizabethtown Community
College Domestic Violence Awareness Committee, in conjunction with SpringHaven,
presented the third annual Domestic Violence Candlelight Vigil Thursday night.
Held in ECC's Morrison Gallery, the vigil included several original poems and
songs depicting the effects of domestic abuse, a keynote speech given by a survivor
and a candle lighting ceremony.
The vigil, which has almost tripled in size since its inception three years
ago, is intended to increase community awareness, said Pem Buck, one of the
vigil's originators.
"It's time to stop being quiet. Victims don't need to feel ashamed. (Abuse)
is widespread; it doesn't need to be a little secret behind closed doors."
Debbie Salsman, residential program director at SpringHaven, said the vigil
provides healing for victims.
"It helps validate what they've been through."
One in five women will experience physical or sexual assault, which is the
leading cause of injury in women ages 18 to 44, Salsman said. Each day in the
United States, three women die at the hands of a current or former intimate
partner.
"They need to be remembered," She said. "We also need to celebrate
the survivors and the courage they have."
The vigil took on the task of remembrance with its theme "Remembering
our losses, celebrating our triumphs."
"It's easy to think that it didn't happen in Elizabethtown," said
Nikki Ellis, who gave the program's welcome. "But it did, and it does."
However, Buck acknowledged that not all places in the world struggle with this
issue.
"We don't have to have a society like this."
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