On behalf of Governor Steve Beshear, Lieutenant Governor Jerry Abramson joined state and local officials last week to announce a $500,000 state grant to help build a Career Path Institute at Todd County Central High School.

The institute will offer vocational training classes for Todd County High School students during the day. In the evenings, the facility will offer adult vocational and technical training courses sponsored by the Hopkinsville Community College.

“This project is a shining example of the type of partnership needed to train Kentuckians in key regional workforce needs and prepare them for the global marketplace,” said Lt. Gov. Abramson. “This institute is an excellent opportunity to provide local workers and graduates the ability to learn new skills, retrain or add additional knowledge to help them find viable employment in the region.”

Lt. Gov. Abramson said this facility will be an advantage to area high school students, who are not only required to take the ACT exam but are also required to complete and pass an industry standard exam in a certain vocational area.

An added bonus, he said, is that the institute will allow the Hopkinsville Community College to offer classes in electrician training, household plumbing, welding, business courses, computer science, construction, computer-aided design, hydraulic/pneumatic troubleshooting and engineering.

“I hear from employers all over Kentucky who say they require an educated, skilled, drug-free workforce,” Lt. Gov. Abramson said. “This makes the creation of such an institute even more critical to our young people, our workers, their future and this region.”

The Todd County Fiscal Court and the Todd County Board of Education will use the $500,000 Community Development Block Grant to help build the nearly 16,000-square-foot building on the campus of Todd County Central High School, located in Elkton. Officials are currently working to secure other sources of funding to help complete the project.

The institute is a cooperative partnership between the Todd County Fiscal Court, the Christian County Fiscal Court, Todd County Board of Education, Todd County Industrial Foundation and the Hopkinsville Community College.

“This is a very exciting opportunity and one of the most important things happening in Todd County right now,” said Sen. Joey Pendleton, of Hopkinsville. “This facility will provide a great service to the area, specifically Todd and Christian counties, by training our workforce. This is very much needed on many levels. I am pleased to see this project moving forward and am glad that I was able to help obtain the funding for construction of the Todd County Career Path Institute.”

“I am so proud for the students and people of Todd County to have this opportunity to have their own technical school. This center will provide students with the skills they need to enter the workforce and at the same time earn college credit while still in high school,” said Rep. Martha Jane King, of Lewisburg. “I applaud the vision, hard work and teamwork that it has taken to help make this dream a reality. From the classroom to the boardroom and from the courthouse to the statehouse, everyone has played an invaluable role. Automaker Henry Ford said that coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. Congratulations, Todd County.”

“To be competitive in the modern workforce, workers are expected to be highly trained with varied skill sets to contribute to their jobs,” said Department of Local Government Commissioner Tony Wilder. “The new Career Path Institute in Todd County will help better prepare students for the 21st century workplace and help the community attract new business because they will have the skilled workforce to support it.”

“I am so proud to be a part of this project that has brought together our school, business and community leaders to create a project that will benefit Todd County students and the entire community for many generations,” said Todd County Judge-Executive Daryl Greenfield. “Thanks to the Beshear Administration for working with our local officials to secure the funding to make this project possible and elevate the level of education provided in Todd County.”

“The Career Path Institute project has been a top priority for the Southern Pennyrile Chamber Alliance, and we know that it will benefit citizens in our region for many years,” said Christian County Judge-Executive Steve Tribble. “I want to thank Gov. Beshear, Sen. Pendleton, Rep. King and everyone who has been involved in efficiently and effectively getting this project off of the ground.”

The state’s CDBG program is administered by the Department for Local Government and funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Kentucky’s Congressional leaders’ ongoing support of the CDBG program ensures the availability of continued funding in Kentucky and nationally.