Larry Ramsey moved to Indiana right out of high school, but in just a year found himself back in the mountains to jumpstart his career with the help of the Daniel Boone Kentucky Career Center JobSight in his native Jackson County.

Ramsey was 19 in 2022 when his mother told him about Daniel Boone JobSight and that the services there would help him complete a Commercial Drivers License (CDL) training program. He had always wanted to be a commercial driver, so he contacted the JobSight and quickly began working with Career Advisor Britney Harris, who determined his eligibility for JobSight’s out-of-school youth program and helped target what services would be appropriate based on his career interests.

“I qualified for the CDL training and started in September,” Ramsey said.

A partner in the Kentucky Career Center JobSight network of workforce centers, Daniel Boone Community Action Agency provides Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) services in Clay and Jackson counties under contract with Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP). Those services include programs for adults, dislocated workers, and youth between the ages of 18 and 24 who may need assistance honing skills such as résumé building or networking with local employers, or who need assistance being retrained or going to school.

Ramsey started classes at the Career Development Center in nearby London, and of the seven others in his class, three of them also had enrolled for services at the Daniel Boone JobSight. The training lasted two weeks, 12 hours a day for six days a week.

“Daniel Boone paid for every bit of it. It was about $5,000 in total just to go to the school,” Ramsey said. “Not only did they pay for the school, they paid for my transportation there and gave me fuel cards for my vehicle since I had to drive back and forth to London every day.”

Ramsey says without assistance from Jobsight there was no way he could have afforded the classes on his own. Now 20 years old, he is driving for a waste management company in Jackson County, where he has worked for nearly a year.

“When people say they’re a garbage man it’s usually not something to be proud, but I really enjoy it,” he said. “I get to do what I love; I love to drive.”

Ramsey said he recommends friends, family, strangers, or anyone who may be looking for a new job or career to stop by their local JobSight to see if services there might be right for them, too.

I wouldn't have been able to do it without them,” he said. “I know people personally that want to get their CDL, and I was like, Daniel Boone [JobSight] will pay it. They'll pay for it and they'll get you in and out in two weeks. You'll be driving the truck before you know it. That's what I'm doing.”

If you’re interested in applying for career and employment services, visit jobsight.org/locations to find your nearest Kentucky Career Center JobSight and contact a career advisor to get started.

EKCEP, a nonprofit workforce development agency headquartered in Hazard, Ky., serves the citizens of 23 Appalachian coalfield counties. The agency provides an array of workforce development services and operates the Kentucky Career Center JobSight network of workforce centers, which provide access to more than a dozen state and federal programs that offer employment and training assistance for job seekers and employers all under one roof. Learn more about us at http://www.ekcep.org or http://www.facebook.com/ekcep.

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