They did the work. We helped clear the runway.
Eight months.
Two hundred eighty-eight hours of training.
And on Friday, August 14, the inaugural class of Hazard Community and Technical College’s Fast Track Plumbing program walked across the stage at the college’s Technical Campus with new skills, credentials, and opportunities ahead of them.
For 27-year-old Hazard resident Delmar Watts, the moment represented something else, too.
An investment.
Watts had already spent time working in the plumbing field. He knew enough to know he wanted to learn more and advance his skills. There was just one problem: when he initially looked into the program, he couldn’t secure the financial aid he needed.
That’s when SOAR’s EKY Runway initiative entered the picture.
Through EKY Runway, and with financial support from Craft Philanthropy and Coalfield Development, SOAR helped Watts and three other members of the class with tuition assistance and wraparound support.
For Watts, that support opened a door.
He wasn’t looking for someone to hand him something. He was ready to put in the work. He needed someone willing to invest in his potential and help him access the opportunity.
SOAR EKY Runway Project Manager Barb Gay helped him navigate enrollment, kept him informed, and stayed connected throughout the eight-month program.
Then Watts did the rest.
He showed up. He learned. He finished.
And when asked at graduation what lesson he would carry forward, his answer was simple: “You never stop learning.”
Ready to take your next step?
Maybe you know where you want to go but aren’t sure how to get there. Maybe you’re looking for training, a better career, or simply someone who can help you understand the opportunities available.
SOAR connects Eastern Kentuckians with training, employment, and resources across Kentucky’s Appalachian region. And in Bell, Floyd, Harlan, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, Perry, and Pike counties, SOAR’s EKY Runway initiative provides additional resources for eligible individuals, including career exploration, training, coaching, and support to overcome barriers.
Start a conversation with SOAR and EKY Runway.
When Partners Come Together
The Fast Track Plumbing program was made possible through funding from USDA Rural Development and brought together partners from multiple sectors, including education, federal and local government, workforce organizations, and nonprofits.
Dr. Jennifer Lindon, Chancellor of Hazard Community and Technical College, said that collaboration is essential to creating opportunities that people can actually complete.
“Projects like this happen when organizations come together around the needs of students and our region,” Lindon said. “We are grateful for SOAR’s partnership. Their support helped remove barriers to completion while providing students with coaching and encouragement throughout the process.”
That support mattered to Luke Woods, 23, of Leslie County.
Woods said the financial assistance helped make the program possible, but it was the personal involvement that stood out.
Gay regularly visited the class, checked on participants, encouraged them, and made sure they stayed engaged.
“If it wasn’t for Barb and SOAR’s help, I don’t think that I would have even considered taking this class,” Woods said.
Eight months later, Woods wasn’t just leaving with a credential.
He was leaving with a career and unlimited potential.
Woods had already lined up work under a plumber and was preparing to put his new training to use almost immediately.
That’s the outcome these partnerships are designed to create: training connected to opportunity.
Could this be you? You don’t have to know exactly what career is right for you before reaching out.
If you’re ready to explore what’s possible, SOAR can help you identify training and employment opportunities across Kentucky’s Appalachian region. If you live in one of EKY Runway’s 12 counties, additional resources may be available to help you get there.
Tell us you’re ready. Let’s figure out the next step together.
Training That Meets a Workforce Need
The graduates’ success also addresses a larger challenge.
Eastern Kentucky needs skilled tradespeople.
The Fast Track Plumbing program gives participants intensive, hands-on preparation for work that is needed throughout the region. Graduates can use those skills to advance with an existing employer, begin a new career, and potentially increase their earning power.
That’s exactly what Jason Patton, 46, hopes his new credential will do.
Patton had already worked in plumbing before entering the program. Now, after completing the training, he is moving forward as a journeyman.
Asked whether that might mean making a little more money, Patton laughed.
“If I can get Chris [his employer] to give me a raise.”
The joke drew a laugh, but behind it is an important point. Training should lead somewhere.
A credential matters because of what a person can do with it… advance in a career, increase their earning potential, provide for a family, or create new opportunities.
And for some skilled tradespeople, the next step may eventually be working for themselves.
What if your next job eventually became your own business?
A skilled trade doesn’t have to be the end of the runway. It can become the beginning of entrepreneurship.
Through SOAR Innovation, aspiring entrepreneurs and existing small business owners across Kentucky’s Appalachian region can access coaching, connections, and resources to help move their ideas forward.
You don’t need a finished business plan to start the conversation.
Have an idea? Connect with SOAR Innovation and let’s talk about it.
They Did the Work
For Gay, Friday’s ceremony represented why EKY Runway exists.
Throughout the program, she met with participants approximately every other week. She listened. She encouraged. And when challenges arose, she and the EKY Runway team worked to connect participants with resources that could help.
At graduation, she sat toward the back of the room and watched.
“This is what it’s about… seeing people reach a milestone,” Gay said. “They did the work. They didn’t give up. We’re here to simply do our part to make sure moments like this happen.”
That distinction matters. SOAR didn’t earn the credential. The students did.
SOAR helped make sure an obstacle didn’t prevent someone’s potential from becoming an opportunity.
An Investment, Not a Handout
SOAR Chief Operating Officer Dr. Joshua Ball reinforced that message when he addressed the graduates during Friday’s ceremony.
He encouraged them to celebrate their accomplishment and to pause long enough to recognize what it took to get there and the people who helped them along the way.
His message to the graduates was direct: “SOAR didn’t give you anything. We invested in you.”
The graduates put in the hours. They made the sacrifices. They completed the work.
The investment was about making sure people with the talent and willingness to work had a fair opportunity to succeed.
Ball also challenged the graduates not to let that investment end with them.
Use their talents skillfully. Do good with what they’ve learned. Pay the investment forward, not necessarily with money, but through kindness, an encouraging word, helping someone recognize an opportunity, or simply telling another person what’s possible.
And become ambassadors.
Not just for the Fast Track Plumbing program, but for the good work happening across Eastern Kentucky to help people identify and pursue their own dreams.
Plumbing Is One Runway. There Are Others.
The partnership between SOAR and Hazard Community and Technical College doesn’t end with plumbing.
“Our work with SOAR is about students, training, and jobs,” said Dr. Keila Miller, Vice Chancellor of Workforce Solutions at HCTC. “This is one of several projects we are collaborating on. We work well together because our organizational missions align around meaningful employment.”
That collaboration extends across Kentucky’s Appalachian region.
SOAR works with all six Kentucky Community and Technical College System institutions serving the SOAR region (Ashland, Big Sandy, Hazard, Maysville, Somerset, and Southeast Kentucky community and technical colleges) on workforce initiatives connected to current and emerging opportunities.
And more pathways are coming.
Technology: Another Fast Track
Through SOAR’s EKY Runway initiative, Big Sandy, Hazard, and Southeast Kentucky community and technical colleges are subawardees of the EDA Recompete Pilot Program grant.
The partners will soon announce fast-track IT and technology training pathways available to eligible participants within EKY Runway’s 12-county service area.
The training will be paired with SOAR’s EKY Talent Network, which helps connect talent with employers and employment opportunities both within the region and remotely.
Could technology be your runway?
You don’t have to already consider yourself a “tech person.”
If you’re curious about technology, interested in remote work, or looking for a new career path, start the conversation.
Connect with EKY Runway and learn about upcoming training opportunities.
A Growing Opportunity in Energy
There is another pathway being built, and this one extends beyond EKY Runway’s 12 counties.
SOAR is working with all six KCTCS colleges serving Kentucky’s Appalachian region on an Energy Training Program designed around real workforce demand.
The free 12-week curriculum for eligible participants is designed to prepare workers for opportunities in the energy sector, including nuclear outage work.
Nuclear outages generally create concentrated periods of seasonal work, primarily during the spring and fall. Certain positions can provide strong earning opportunities and benefits for workers willing and able to travel during outage seasons.
It’s another example of the model SOAR and its partners are working to build across the region:
Find the opportunity. Build the training. Prepare the people. Connect them to work.
Interested in the energy sector?
A career you haven’t considered before could be worth exploring.
Learn more about SOAR’s Energy Training Program and see if you’re eligible.
Students. Training. Jobs.
Those three words from Miller describe much of what happened at HCTC on Friday.
But there was another word present, too: Possibility.
Watts entered the program wanting to learn more about a trade he already knew.
Patton used it to advance.
Woods completed the program with a job waiting.
Three people. Three different starting points.
And three examples of what can happen when individual determination meets accessible training, supportive partners, and a connection to opportunity.
That’s bigger than plumbing.
What’s Your Runway?
Maybe it’s plumbing.
Maybe it’s technology.
Maybe it’s energy.
Maybe it’s another skilled trade, healthcare, manufacturing, remote work, or an opportunity you haven’t discovered yet.
Maybe you’ve been thinking about starting your own business.
Or maybe all you know right now is this: You want something more. You don’t have to have the entire journey figured out before you take the first step.
Across Kentucky’s Appalachian region, SOAR works with colleges, employers, workforce organizations, communities, and other partners to connect Eastern Kentuckians with opportunities.
And within EKY Runway’s 12-county service area, SOAR has additional resources to provide eligible individuals with intensive career exploration, training, coaching, mentoring, and support.
The runway won’t look the same for everyone.
Neither will the destination.
But every journey starts somewhere.
Ready to find yours?
Looking for training or a better career?
Connect with SOAR and EKY Runway.
Interested in the Energy Training Program?
Explore Energy Training.
Have a business idea?
Connect with SOAR Innovation.
Looking for talent or ready to put your skills to work?
Explore the EKY Talent Network.
Your next opportunity may be closer than you think.