OCTC Partners with Local Employers to Provide Students with On-the-Job Experience and Tuition Assistance

by Bernie Hale

Owensboro, KY (06/30/2025) — Ceary Crisp, Career Services Coordinator at Owensboro Community & Technical College (OCTC), is actively building partnerships with local employers to help students gain valuable career experience while completing their education. As a result of these efforts, four local businesses have joined OCTC as Education First Employers (EFE)-committed to supporting student success through flexible work opportunities and tuition assistance.

These EFE partners offer students the chance to earn income and hands-on experience in their chosen fields while attending classes. In addition to valuable workplace exposure, EFE partners also provide tuition assistance to their employees, making college more affordable for participating students.

Current Education First Employers include:

Wendell Foster

Owensboro Health Regional Hospital

Toyotetsu Mid America (TTMA)

Green River Distilling Co.

Organizations interested in becoming an Education First Employer or learning more about partnership benefits are encouraged to contact Ceary Crisp at ceary.crisp@kctcs.edu. Students who want to explore current job opportunities through the EFE program can email octc.careerservices@kctcs.edu or visit the Pathfinder Den on OCTC's Main Campus.

Owensboro Community & Technical College is one of the sixteen community and technical colleges that make up the Kentucky Community & Technical College System. OCTC serves the KY counties of Daviess, Hancock, Ohio and McLean. OCTC has three campuses in Daviess County and a Center and Annex in Hancock County. OCTC strives to serve the communities in the service area by providing associate degree education for transfer, state of the art technical education for students focusing on entering the workforce, customized business and industry solutions through the Workforce Solutions division, and adult education and business and industry testing through the SkillTrain unit.

The Kentucky Community and Technical College System is the Commonwealth's largest postsecondary institution with 16 colleges and more than 70 campuses. We also are Kentucky's largest provider of workforce training and online education. Through partnerships with business and industry, we align our programs to meet the needs of local employers. We help students fulfill their dreams of creating a better life through programs that lead directly to jobs or help them transfer to one of our four-year partners.

Connect with OCTC: Owensboro.kctcs | Facebook.com/owensboroctc | Twitter@OCTC_Tweets | Instagram OwensboroCTC

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Owensboro Community and Technical College

OCTC Partners with Local Employers to Provide Students with On-the-Job Experience and Tuition Assistance

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Owensboro Community and Technical College

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