November's Chamber Member of the Month: TEK Center

Angie Reynolds is a powerhouse of a woman. All on her own she planted the seed for TEK Center, watered it and pruned it until it grew into something bigger and better than she intended. What she planted has borne beautiful fruit, and it’s a testament to her tenacity and insane work ethic.

TEK Center grew out of a need for heavy equipment operators at the company Angie used to work for. It was her job to find them, so she had the idea of launching a small training center to help her get people into the jobs she needed to fill. First, she tried the Floyd County School of Innovation to get students from their heavy equipment program. But she realized they didn’t have enough hands-on experience to be at the level of employability she needed. She had to find another way.

Angie quickly realized this project was going to be bigger than she initially thought, so she got to work. It didn’t matter that this was all new to her; she sat down and put together a business proposal, wrote policies and procedures, a handbook, and manual. Word of mouth was spreading, and people were coming to her wanting to teach more than just heavy equipment operation; they were plumbers and welders looking to train students. This was really starting to snowball into something bigger than she expected.

Now mind you, all of this was going on while she was still working her full-time job at a company that needed heavy equipment operators. But now things were moving with the training center idea and quickly growing, so she had to make a choice. Should she stay in her career, or focus on opening a new training school? As you can see, she chose the school, and it was clearly the right choice.

The idea of having a small training center with just one pathway has now exploded into a state-licensed, post-secondary, non-profit, private institution. Angie’s running a full-blown college these days, and there are now six pathways at TEK Center: Heavy Equipment Operation, Electrical, Industrial Mechanic, Plumbing, Masonry, and Welding. There are even plans to add two more pathways in the coming years.

Classes started in July of 2023, with 27 graduates last year, most of whom are now working in the industry they trained in. TEK Center has partnered with several local businesses to equip students for future success, and Angie has even hosted a job fair exclusively for TEK Center students to match them with potential employers. She can’t promise them a job, but she gives her students every tool she can to help them get one. She even helps students build their resume, do interview prep, and strengthen their communication skills.

Further, the way TEK Center operates instills strong work ethic in students, in that going to school operates like going to a real job. When students are on campus, they’re expected to be accountable for the full eight hours. They get docked for being late or leaving early. To have a passing grade, students must maintain above a 70% grade average. She holds them to a higher standard than a traditional college, but without the traditional college setting.

Unlike a traditional college, for example, TEK Center graduates are walking away with at least 4-6 certifications; some pathways offer more, such as with heavy equipment operation—they’re trained and certified on eleven different pieces of equipment, ranging from forklifts to back hoes, loaders, dozers, and excavators. Another way TEK Center stands apart from the traditional college setting is that students are only required to be on campus two days of the week. Angie structured TEK Center this way because she knows what it’s like to have to raise a family and maintain a full-time job while trying to put yourself through school.

Students at TEK Center receive the quickest, most affordable, most in-depth training in the state, not to mention they’re the only ones who offer masonry and plumbing pathways. The biggest thing about TEK Center, though, is its affordability. Tuition is $10,000 (lower than other schools) but they offer scholarships that will cover about $7,000 and there are also opportunities through Voc Rehab (Vocational Rehabilitation Office) to cover the rest, which means students who can graduate debt free! Try that at any other college.

As a result, TEK Center is quickly outgrowing their current space at Inez in Martin County. Enrollment was up 40% over last year and retention is up 5%. TEK Center recently received an AMLER grant (Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization) to the tune of $3,180,000. These funds are going toward building a brand new 30,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility at Magoffin County’s Gifford Road Industrial Complex, which will more than double their current size and allow for a total of eight training pathways and give them the ability to train up to 400 students at one time.

For Angie, it’s all about the students and setting them up for success. That’s what makes all the long days and late nights worth it. She told me about one student who wrote to her, “You don’t know how much you’ve changed my life for the better. You kept me from going down a bad path.”

And that is why Angie is so passionate about this. She is able to give back to her community in a transformative and healing way. People who are desperate to work and make a living wage to support their family—TEK Center is their chance to do exactly that, and then some.

For more information about TEK Center, visit www.tekcenterky.org or call 606.534.3688. You can also stay up to date with their latest happenings by giving them a follow on Facebook.

 



Once a month, the Southeast Kentucky Chamber spotlights one Member business as a free promotion. If your business is interested in being highlighted, please reach out to Katie Belt at 606.432.5504 or katie@sekchamber.com