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Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College has received $50,000 to develop new training for miners. The College is one of 13 recipients of a $1 million US Department of Labor Brookwood-Sago grant for mine safety education.

Jeannette J. Galanis, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health, says that this training is vital because of a recent increase in mining fatalities. “The Mine Safety and Health Administration’s top priority is the safety and well-being of people working in and around mines,” she said. “Mine workers are a critical resource and grants like these help support the mining community’s training and education needs and promote ways to protect miners better.”

This program was established by the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 to honor the 25 miners who died at the Jim Walter Resources #5 mine in Brookwood, Alabama, in 2001, and at the Sago Mine in Buckhannon, West Virginia, in 2006.

According to Carrie Billett, Chief Advancement Officer at Southeast, the College sought funding to develop, equip, and implement new hands on fall protection training. Southeast’s Fall Protection Training will be based on Southeast’s Harlan Campus in Harlan County Kentucky and travel regionally to offer training.

During the grant period Southeast with host six trainings and one region-wide event training 200 hundred workers.

“Thanks to this funding, Southeast will be able to conduct training that reinforces the seriousness of fall injuries and the ease of proper safety,” said Workforce Solutions Director Sherri Clark. “It will reflect real-world situations and safety trends that new and experienced miners face daily.”

Southeast President Vic Adams said, “We are grateful to the US Department of Labor for recognizing the need for this funding. It is an important part of our mission at Southeast to improve safety among company workers and contractors, improve emergency prevention and preparedness, and prevent falls from equipment.”