Southeast KY Regional Training Consortium Grant

Donna Helton Grady, Coordinator of Regional Workforce Development who is the administrative liaison between Eastern Kentucky University and the Southeast Kentucky Regional Training Consortium, applies for a Bluegrass State Skills Corporation Grant. Each year, Grady prepares the grant application and the reimbursement packet at the end of each grant cycle to request reimbursement for the member companies. Her hard work has paid off since 2008 as the funding has been secured each year for the past 10 years.

With these funds, the University has planned skills-training courses for supervisors and future supervisors in the area. Companies can send their workers through EKU’s Workforce Development training that is covered under the grant. Once the individual courses are completed, companies are eligible for up to 50% reimbursement from the state as part of the consortium agreement. 

Bruce Carpenter, executive director of the Corbin Economic Development Agency, provides oversight of the revenue and expenditures that flow through the Consortium.  He and Grady work together to recruit new companies in the region to join this program.

One training program offered is the First Line Supervision Certificate program. This program can be used for supervisors at many levels and provides insight and understanding into the skills, knowledge and techniques demonstrated by successful supervisors. This program also addresses leadership and the need to build relationships with the team the supervisor is leading.

 “I am passionate about seeing how training can impact both individual class participants, as well as helping our regional employers have a well-rounded and skilled workforce that keeps our companies competitive in the global market,” Grady said. “I love being able to see and hear feedback from our clients that confirms just how important both the soft skills and technical skills training have helped them accomplish their goals and objectives.”

Donna Helton Grady, Workforce Education Coordinator/Conferencing & Events for Corbin, Manchester and Somerset regional campuses.

Perkins 202

Email: donna.helton@eku.edu

Published on May 10, 2018