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The course began Jan. 6 and was hosted two nights a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for three hours at CJ Hughes Construction Inc. in Huntington.

It concluded March 12, with students earning their CPR and first aid cards, OSHA 30 certificates, and having completed forklift and basic construction training, including hand and power tools, blueprint reading and construction math.

Students who completed the course also earned seven hours of credits at Mountwest, which they can put toward a two-year degree.

�����Ƶ�They all said they loved it,�����Ƶ� Dickerson said of the seven students in the first cohort.

He said the course is capped at 20 students due to materials, but he hopes to grow enrollment. He said the course serves students from Cabell, Wayne and Mason counties, and he intends the next cohort to be hosted in Mason County in partnership with the Adult Education program at the Mason County Career Center in Point Pleasant.

In the fall, Dickerson said he is also partnering with Spring Valley High School in Wayne County, where he hopes to host an adult course in the evenings at the Career and Technical Education Center.

�����Ƶ�We�����Ƶ�re talking about embedding it into Spring Valley�����Ƶ�s carpentry classes curriculum so that the high schoolers can actually just graduate with those certificates and that Mountwest credit already,�����Ƶ� he said.

The program is open to anyone over 18, with no additional requirements. Startup for the program was supported through a $500,000 Gable Grant from Lowe�����Ƶ�s, and the program is partnered with the store near South Point, Ohio.

Not only does Dickerson want to help people enter into a career in the trades, he said, but he also wants to support people who are already apprentices.

Mountwest developed a system called Credit for Prior Learning, where students who already have experience can bring in their apprenticeship certification and on-the-job training letter, Dickerson said. After completing five Mountwest general education courses, they can be awarded a two-year degree based on their experience.

One student, Fred Chandler, who has 30 years of experience as a plumber and pipefitter, recently completed the system and attended the ceremony Tuesday evening, Dickerson said.

�����Ƶ�My dream for this position is to sort of knock down that barrier between academia and the trades �����Ƶ� and try to get as many trades people as educated as I can, get them certificates, degrees, whatever they want, whatever Mountwest is able to give them,�����Ƶ� Dickerson said.

Dickerson said apprenticeships are important for promoting trades, and local unions have expressed to him they�����Ƶ�re in need of workers. He said preparing new apprentices through the readiness course can help workers �����Ƶ�be ready to hit the ground running.�����Ƶ�

�����Ƶ�At Mountwest, we want to prepare all of our students for whatever field they choose to go into, and so it�����Ƶ�s super important for us to give them all the proper training that they may need to go into their workforce,�����Ƶ� Dickerson said.

The next cohort in Mason County is expected to start around June, according to Dickerson. Those looking for more information or to enroll may visit .