Published: February 05, 2007 09:16  am

Industry training for students

Ronica Shannon
Register News Writer

Madison County's Chemical Destruction Community Advisory Board (CDCAB) is planning to go one step further in preparing the community for the destruction of the weapons stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot.

Rob Rumpke, chair of the CDCAB's economic development working group and executive director of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, is beginning to collaborate with Bechtel-Parsons, the government's contractor for the weapons disposal project, and several departments at Eastern Kentucky University to help students develop the skills needed for the future project.

"One of the most important aspects of this group is looking at work force development and finding out what needs to be put into place," Rumpke. "It's going to take people who are very skilled in technology to work in some sections of the (chemical demilitarization plant) and they're lots of management jobs. We knew that we needed to address work force development as it is related to the (weapons) destruction plant."

He said he would like to develop industry-based academies similar to those that prepare students for jobs with UPS or Toyota.

"It would not only get the students ready to work at the plant, but it also will get them ready to work at other industry jobs in Madison County," he said.

The need for the training has been identified, Rumpke said, and now he is searching for local partners to work with the CDCAB on the initiative.

"It's all about keeping our best and brightest here in Madison County," he said. "It's also about developing our work force from the bottom up."

The idea is to work with students of all ages, including those attending EKU.

Gary Marshall, executive director of the Innovation and Commercialization Center at EKU, said the center's role is to try and create sustainable jobs and give students the skills necessary to go into other industries after the demilitarization project is completed.

"In whatever we do, we want (the students) to be transferable," Marshall said.

Once the destruction plant is built, which is scheduled to be around 2010, the job opportunities will be endless, according to Ron Holly, operations manager for Bechtel-Parsons.

Approximately 100 employees will be needed in the area of maintenance, which includes mechanics, technicians and electricians; 120 employees will be needed to assist in laboratory duties; about 50 control room operators will be needed along with 80 munitions handlers, 100 hazardous waste operators, 150 technical professionals, 50 foremen and 50 employees for administration and clerical duties.

Operation, maintenance and laboratory duties will be done 24 hours a day, but the clerical and administration staff would have 40-hour work weeks, Holly said.

The chemical weapons destruction plant will be a good starting point for developing industrial skills, Holly said.

"They would be able to transfer to other industries, whether it be the automobile manufacturing industry or any other industrial process," he said. "It should make them attractive to most employers."

Anyone interested in becoming a partner, whether a business, organization or private, can call Rumpke at 623-1720.