Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet
Department of Labor, contractors join partnership for construction safety training

VERSAILLES, Ky. (Dec. 15, 2005) - The Kentucky Department of Labor and Associated General Contractors of Kentucky (AGC) today joined three other agencies in a partnership to broaden safety education training in the construction industry.

The partnership effort is aimed at high school and postsecondary construction teachers and instructors and, through them, the students who will one day enter the construction work force.

The teachers will be afforded an opportunity to become certified to teach 10- and 30-hour safety courses developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Other partners in the effort are the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), Kentucky Department of Education and Kentucky Department of Workforce Investment.

"The essence of this partnership can be captured in a simple phrase - safety on the job," John Clay, deputy secretary of the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet (EPPC), said in a signing ceremony at the KCTCS facility in Versailles.

"Governor Ernie Fletcher and we in the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet are committed to creating and promoting a culture of safety in the workplace," Clay said.

Under the partnership, AGC and the Department of Labor’s Division of Education and Training will provide OSHA-certified instructors to conduct the 30-hour OSHA safety course for the teachers-turned-students. Those successfully completing the course and final exam would themselves become OSHA certified and could carry the training directly to students in their schools.

AGC also will provide training facilities in the Lexington and Louisville areas. KCTCS, the Department of Education and the Department of Workforce Investment will promote the training through newsletters and e-mails, coordinate dates for classes and help drum up attendance.

"I congratulate all of the participants in this training partnership," said Philip Anderson, commissioner of the Department of Labor, an agency of EPPC. "I am especially appreciative of Associated General Contractors of Kentucky for their insight. This program, by making possible early safety training for future industry employees, will help to ensure safer construction work sites and will further the administration’s goal of improving workplace safety in Kentucky."