BEVIN FIGHTING FOR SCHOOL RESTROOM CONTROL; $100 MILLION IN ‘WORK READY’ SKILLS PROGRAM APPLICATIONS DUE

Gov. Matt Bevin: Fighting for the Right of Communities to Maintain Local Control Over Schools; 

Pre-applications for $100M Work Ready Skills Initiative due next week…

FRANKFORT, KY (Aug. 5, 2016) – Statement from Gov. Matt Bevin:

“Recognizing the danger of any policy that takes away local control of schools, the United States Supreme Court put a temporary stop to a ruling from a federal court in Virginia. That ruling had attempted to force a local school district to comply with President Obama’s absurd proposed rules for school bathrooms and locker rooms. 

“This is a good first step in the direction of what should be a final ruling upholding the right of communities to maintain local control over their schools.

“Our Administration is committed to protecting the Tenth Amendment and fighting federal overreach into state and local issues. Standing united with several other states, we are fighting the federal government to ensure that such issues continue to be decided by Kentuckians at the local level, not by politicians and bureaucrats in Washington.”

Pre-applications for $100M Work Ready Skills Initiative due next week

Aug. 12 deadline for first round of applications

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 5, 2016) – Project pre-applications for the first round of the Commonwealth’s new $100 million statewide workforce development bond fund are due Friday, Aug. 12.

Announced by Governor Matt Bevin, Education and Workforce Development Cabinet Secretary Hal Heiner, and Cabinet for Economic Development Acting Secretary Erik Dunnigan in July, the Kentucky Work Ready Skills Initiative is aimed at developing a highly trained, modernized workforce to meet the needs of employers and promote sustainable incomes for Kentuckians.

“We have received tremendous feedback about this exciting new program from across the state,” said Heiner. “It appears that many Kentucky communities are assembling the essential partnerships—private sector employers, high school/secondary technical schools, and postsecondary institutions—required for this program.”

The Work Ready Skills Initiative infuses resources to expand career and technical education facilities and to upgrade equipment in those schools to current and future industry standards through local partnerships between private industry and educational institutions. The locally driven initiatives will train and educate workers to meet the workforce needs of Kentucky’s employers now and in the future.

Eligible projects include: construction and equipping of a new facility to provide workforce training and education, renovation or enhancement of an existing facility, purchase of new or upgraded equipment, and first-year marketing expenses. Applicants must provide at least a 10 percent match for all projects.

The nine-member Work Ready Skills Advisory Committee will review all pre-applications in late August, notify successful pre-applicants, and invite them to submit a full project application.

This committee includes cabinet secretaries for Education and Workforce Development, Economic Development, and Labor, the chair of the Kentucky Workforce Innovation Board (KWIB), three employers nominated by the governor, one member nominated by the president of the Kentucky Senate, and one member nominated by the speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives.

Pre-application forms can be downloaded and submitted at www.KentuckyWorkReady.com.  An informational webinar hosted by Sec. Heiner and Acting Sec. Dunnigan can also be viewed at this site.

For additional program details, please call 502-564-0372 or email workreadyskills@ky.gov.