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OCTC Programs Help Single Mothers Move Ahead

by Bernie Hale

Owensboro, KY (04/03/2018) — Christina Carpenter is a single mother of five children. Prior to working through Owensboro Community and Technical College's (OCTC) Ready to Work/ Work and Learn programs, she was a high school dropout working low wage jobs such as waitressing and retail. Christina earned her GED while she was pregnant with her first child but continued working low wage positions. Christina stated, "I didn't really have a direction, and I didn't know how to take that first step forward." She was stuck at a crossroads, with no spare time, always working and caring for her children.

While working in retail, Christina planned to get a job at a factory. Working in industry would provide the income needed to support her and her family, but the physical labor and long hours were not ideal for her situation. Childcare expenses are costly, particularly when multiplied by five.

Through OCTC's Ready to Work/Work and Learn programs, with help from the Kentucky Works program in Ohio County, Christina was placed as a work-study student at the HUB with supervisor Chase Vincent through Ohio County Economic Development Alliance (OCEDA).

According to The Ohio County Monitor, "The Hub is a co-work space, business incubator and remote work training center for Ohio County." Vincent indicated that Christina is getting great experience while at the Hub, learning web development, app development, social media management, and project management skills in addition to her normal administrative assistant duties.

Vincent speaks about working with Christina, "Christina came into this position with enthusiasm and an eagerness to learn. She is not hesitant to ask if she is unsure about a task and maintains a high level of communication, with little supervision. Having Christina as a work-study student has been a tremendous benefit to OCEDA."

When asked how she has benefited from the experience Christina indicated that she would never have gotten an opportunity like this without the Ready to Work/Work and Lean programs at OCTC. She added, "I get a paycheck and get to go to school. I'm also surrounded by a large support system that is rooting for me to succeed." Once struggling to make ends meet, she is now able to pay bills and have a little money left over. Christina comments, "My family couldn't live the way we do today without these programs."

Ready to Work is a partnership between the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS). Ready to Work (RTW) is designed to assist low-income parents who are enrolling in and attending community and technical colleges in Kentucky. Work and Learn (WL) allows us to provide RTW services to adult education and GED students to help make their transition to college a smooth one.

Ready to Work/ Work and Learn offer work opportunities both on and off campus through a work-study program for recipients of Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (K-TAP) benefits. Participants gain work experience while earning extra income that will not reduce their K-TAP benefits. The placement of work-study students in their fields of study with both private and non-profit employers helps prepare them for the workplace and often leads to full-time employment.

Ready to Work/ Work and Learn offer the many free resources to help students succeed including: counseling, advocacy, mentoring, referrals to community resources, job references, job referrals, seminars on job readiness and life skills, financial education, and more.

For more information on Ready to Work/Work and Learn contact Karri Calhoun (270) 852-8963 karri.calhoun@kctcs.eduor Amy Fogle-Stiff (270) 686-4556 amyf.fogle@kctcs.edu.

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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.

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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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