Menifee Countian Chase Williams Steps onto Career Path as Lineman with Help from Gateway KCC JobSight

Chase Williams likes working outdoors and with his hands, so it seemed like a natural step in spring of 2020 when an opportunity came along to train for a career as a lineman.

Chase Williams, pictured during his lineman training in 2020.

“This job felt like something that would be a good fit for me and be able to make a living,” Williams said. 

Chase Williams, pictured during his lineman training in 2020.

A resident of Menifee County, Williams decided to apply for the lineman program through Maysville Community and Technical College (MCTC), but he also needed assistance to cover some of the costs of the training. Fortunately, his mother works in the accounting department at Gateway Community Action and told him about the possibility of enrolling for career services there.

A partner in the Kentucky Career Center JobSight network of workforce centers, Gateway provides Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) services in Menifee and Morgan counties under contract with Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP). Those services include programs for adults, dislocated workers, and youth 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.

It was a simple process to sign up for services through Gateway, Williams said. He called and set up an appointment to speak with an expert career advisor who was able to determine that he was eligible for services under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). After some initial paperwork, his career advisor worked to follow up with Williams to ensure his enrollment and training was proceeding without any hiccups.

Williams began training at Maysville Community and Technical College’s Rowan County campus with Gateway providing assistance not only for direct program costs, but also with transportation and purchasing items he would need to complete the training.

“They were able to pay for all my tuition, a $25 dollar gas card every week, and they reimbursed me for my boots and a lot of the tools/equipment that I had to have,” he said. 

By November 2020, Williams had completed training, but with the COVID-19 pandemic near its peak, there weren’t a lot of jobs available. Williams was able to land a position with a contractor, where he worked for six months, but by summer 2021 landed a full-time job with Licking Valley Rural Electric Cooperative in West Liberty, where he’s currently in the apprentice program and gaining valuable experience on the jobsite.

Williams is not only employed now, but said he’s on a career path with a job that he loves, thanks in part to the support he received from the WIOA services at Gateway, adding that anyone who might be looking for their own career should start by contacting their local Kentucky Career Center JobSight and looking into what options might be available.

“They were a huge help financially in helping me reach my career goals,” Williams said. “I love my job and plan on retiring from Licking Valley RECC.”

To learn more about available services through the Gateway Kentucky Career Center JobSight, email kcc@gatewaycaa.org or call 606-743-3133.

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 jobseekers and employers all under one roof. Learn more about us at http://www.ekcep.org, http://www.jobsight.org and http://www.facebook.com/ekcep.