Paducah Training Option Adapts To Maritime Industry Needs

The Marine Way Training Center at West Kentucky Community & Technical College (WKCTC) in Paducah, Ky., is changing how it offers classes to better fit the needs of the river industry.

Ashley Burns, director of community workforce and economic development at WKCTC, said the college has sunset a program that resulted in an associate’s degree in marine technology and has instead moved to a program that offers industry-driven, customized training on a quicker schedule. Some of the training options include classes that are already Coast Guard-approved.

Burns was the luncheon speaker at the September 9 meeting of the Paducah Propeller Club. She detailed some of the Marine Way Training Center’s offerings and noted that the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) designated WKCTC’s program as a Center of Excellence for maritime workforce training in 2021.

Noting that Paducah has often been described as the hub of the inland waterways, Burns said, “We want to become the inland waterway training hub.”

Most “pre-packaged” courses are offered monthly, but they can be offered to a group of five or more with as little as two weeks’ notice, Burns said. Depending on the class, coursework can be completed online, in a classroom or in a hybrid format that allows a shorter time for training objectives to be completed.

Coast Guard-approved radar observer and marine firefighting classes at basic and advanced levels are available on a regular basis, she said. The center also offers the only fully online Coast Guard-approved tankerman dangerous liquids program in the nation and is developing a similar online steersman training program.

The center also has its own towboat engine and access to a marine kitchen for hands-on training. Entry level skills training for welding, HVAC maintenance and repair and electrical work are available along with focused courses in vessel and compliance training, including Subchapter M, and food and wellness options. For those who could benefit from brushing up on technology in the workplace, courses are available in multiple subjects, including cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. In the coming year, she said, one course will specifically focus on maritime cybersecurity. The center also offers “soft skills” training in workplace skills and in leadership, including harassment prevention, supervisory skills and team building.

Course curriculums are always changing as industry feedback is received. For example, Burns said, the center’s deckhand training course now includes financial literacy, as it was determined there was a need for some new deckhands to have a better understanding of it.

Coursework can also be customized according to a company’s specific needs, structuring classes to fit around shift schedules, operational needs and production demands, she said. It can be offered at a worksite, at WKCTC, online or with a blended approach.

“We don’t operate on a calendar,” she said. “We are able to take a phone call and, within two weeks, offer one of our packages of classes.”

Additionally, she said, there is help covering the expense of training. The Kentucky TRAINS program covers 75 percent of the cost for eligible employers, and WKCTC Workforce Solutions will apply for that funding upon request from a company. The company is responsible for the other 25 percent of the cost, plus a 10 percent administrative fee.

Burns said she looks forward to working with companies and to hearing how the center can specifically meet their needs.

“Our goals are the same as yours,” she said. “We want everyone to be successful, to be safe in doing so and to grow.”