For Immediate Release
September 4, 1997
Contact: Melissa Forsythe or
Mark Pfeiffer at
(502) 564-2611
Morehead, Ky. - Describing it as a "significant partnership" between business and government in workforce training, Governor Paul Patton today cut the ribbon on a laboratory classroom at Rowan County High School that will offer courses in plastics injection molding.
Governor Patton said, "This collaborative effort encompasses all levels of education, industry and School-to-Work, making it a first-of-its-kind partnership in Kentucky. It's the kind of partnership we must have to prepare our workforce for the workplace of the 21st Century."
Earlier this summer a cooperative agreement for workforce training in polymer processing plastics injection molding was signed by representatives of the Rowan County Board of Education, Kentucky Tech Rowan Regional Technology Center, Morehead State University, Guardian Automotive Industries Corporation and the Local Labor Market 19 School-to Work Partnership Council.
Guardian Automotive, which will open its new plant in Morehead later this fall, has placed a new 35-ton, state-of-the-art computer controlled polymer processing injection molding machine at the school for training. The high school and the university will offer courses in polymer processing and thermoplastics and help prepare supervisors and management personnel for Guardian's new plant.
"This is a concrete example for postsecondary education's role as a partner in economic development," the governor said, "and an excellent reference for local industrial authorities to use as an incentive for attracting new industries to this region and the state."