KentuckyWired exceeds employment rate

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ)- The Kentucky Communications Network Authority says that when the KentuckyWired broadband project began building its 3,350-mile network of high-speed fiber optic cable, the Commonwealth ensured that at least 60 percent of work-hours used for construction would be from local labor, and included that requirement in the state’s contract with its builder. Three years into the project that promise has not only been kept, but exceeded.

The latest report from KentuckyWired’s primary contractor, NG-KIH Design-Build LLC, shows 80 percent of construction work-hours to date have been performed by Kentucky citizens. This news comes in concert with the Kentucky Cabinet for Education and Workforce Development’s notice that the 2018 unemployment rate in Kentucky dropped to 4.3 percent, the lowest annual jobless rate in the Commonwealth since 2000.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for line installers and repairers is $64,190 per year, and demand for trained workers in this field is projected to grow by 8 percent per year between 2016 and 2026.[1]  Linemen and line construction crews who desire to work on the KentuckyWired project should contact NG-KIH Design-Build LLC at https://www.kentuckywiredproject.com/contact-us/.

In addition, The Center for Rural Development in Somerset, KY, a key investment partner of the KentuckyWired project, offers grant programs that provide tuition assistance for those that are unemployed, underemployed or impacted by the decline of coal. Various programs including lineman and fiber-optics training are available for participants. These programs are offered through multiple colleges within the Kentucky Community & Technical College System. Contact Patti Simpson at The Center to see if you qualify for tuition assistance at psimpson@centertech.com or 606-677-6000.