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KENTUCKY COAL ACADEMY BACKGROUND
In Fiscal Year 2005, the Kentucky General Assembly appropriated $3 million to the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) for the establishment of the Kentucky Coal Academy (KCA) to expand and improve mining career and technical education and training. In addition, the KCTCS received $120,000 from the Kentucky Commerce Cabinet to provide administrative support and operating costs for the academy. Coal industry sources indicate that there is a need for some 3,500 miners statewide as the demand for coal increases while more than half of the current mining workforce is nearing retirement.
The intent of the program is to operate an open entry/exit statewide training program to meet the workforce needs of the coal industry. The first program goal is to provide short-term training for new miners to satisfy the industry need for skilled workers. A second is the creation of a career path in mining to sustain the viability of the coal mining career and support the coal industry. The Kentucky Coal Academy is comprised of five of KCTCS’ community and technical colleges located in the eastern and western Kentucky coalfields:
- Big Sandy Community and Technical College
- Hazard Community and Technical College
- Madisonville Community and Technical College
- Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College
KENTUCKY COAL ACADEMY MISSION
The mission of the Kentucky Coal Academy is:
- To educate and train the coal workforce of the future.
- To create and sustain jobs in the coal industry.
- To provide career pathways for miners from high schools and area technology centers which will include certificates, associates degrees and baccalaureate degrees.
A key element of the mission of the KCA will extend coal education at the secondary level through the Kentucky Junior Coal Academy. The extended early educational opportunity will provide three career paths for students interested in mining. These paths include:
- Employment in the industry immediately following high school graduation.
- Pursuit of a two-year degree as a pre-engineering technician or an Associate’s degree in Mining through KCTCS.
- Pre-Engineering (toward a 4+year degree in Mining Engineering)
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