By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
A new collaboration between the city of Olive Hill and Northeast Career Center is helping some young people get a jumpstart on their new careers with an apprenticeship program that helps cover the costs for their training, materials, and more. Alex Torres, Nate Hanshaw and Chandler Davis signed apprenticeship agreements last Wednesday with the Olive Hill fire department, and the city’s water distribution and water treatment services, respectively, in a ceremony with the career center and city officials.
“It’s a pretty well known fact in the state of Kentucky, we’re facing a shortage of care providers; both EMTs and paramedics,” noted Levi Hanshaw, with the Kentucky Board of EMS. “So, this program Alex is going through… that’s going to help across the entire state. It’s a good thing, bringing young people into this field.”
“It’s one of those things,” Hanshaw continued, “fire and EMS, together, are one of those jobs that you just kind of have to want to do. It’s not something that they kind of guide you in that direction in high school, like they do with nursing, doctors… things like that.”
He said it took him until after he graduated high school to realize that EMS was “a great fit for me.” But, he explained, programs like this can help these young people realize where they fit earlier, so they “can go on and do things at a higher level, and be able to make a great career out of it.”
Kara Williamson, business service consultant with Northeast Career Center, said the organization was glad to partner with the city of Olive Hill on the apprenticeships.
“These apprenticeships aren’t just about training,” she said. “They’re about creating good jobs right here at home. They allow our residents to stay close to their families, contribute to their community, and build long-term careers without having to leave the place they love.”
Olive Hill fire chief Jeremy Rodgers said the support from Northeast was important and appreciated.
“I’ve been a member (of the fire department) here for 30 years, and today, and in the last six months or so, we’ve taken steps that I never imagined that we would see within this small community.”
He said when you consider that, even with an all-volunteer system, it is a huge financial burden on a city to fund a department – with a cost of roughly $5,000 to kit out a firefighter, and 35 to 40 volunteers required to run a department – every dollar invested by a group like Northeast was beneficial.
Rodgers explained that Northeast was funding 50 percent of all salary and tuition costs for training associated with the apprenticeships, as well as the costs for personal protective equipment, certifications, etc. The other 50 percent was set to come from the city budget.
“That’s where we have to have the support of city council and the mayor,” Rodgers said.
Olive Hill city council member Tony Williams said the city was happy to provide their support, because it allowed them to extend and maintain city services at a discounted rate.
Just as important as the cost savings, though, was supporting the fire department’s needs, Williams said.
“I’ve sang their praises many times,” he said. “I’ve lived all over Kentucky. I’ve lived in Tennessee. And I’ve not seen a department (like this one). You can’t get a paid department to do what they do, what they’ve done, as volunteers here. Anything that’s going to help them, we’re going to help them.”
Rodgers said he couldn’t take credit for the project, though, just for helping raise awareness of it.
“Josh Thompson, the supervisor at the water plant, had the first (apprentice), and found out about the program basically by luck,” Rodgers said. Thompson pointed Rodgers and Olive Hill police chief Bruce Palmer in the direction of Northeast, and they reached out to them as well.
“We contacted the ladies at the Northeast office, and they were all about it,” Rodgers said. “So, they came down and we met about it. We gave them kind of the ground rules that we have to follow to certify people, and then they laid out the program.”
“We appreciate the work that has been put in by all of the staff, through Northeast and the career center,” Rodgers added. “Because they took the bits and pieces that I threw at them and developed what needed to be officially done for this program to be successful in the future. So, we’re excited. We look for it to grow, and for all of these young people to be able to start a career here that, hopefully, will be like myself, and like Levi, and Chief Palmer… and turn it into a career.”
Palmer said he will also be taking advantage of the assistance Northeast offers, but because of the certification requirements for police officers, that program will look slightly different.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
