Kicking Horse Job Corps enrollment reopens
Megan Strickland
Tommy Marao-Franz of Colorado practices drawing blood in the nursing assistant class at Kicking Horse Job Corps in Ronan.
Megan Strickland
Austin Riley of Longmont, Colo., works in the diesel mechanic shop at Kicking Horse Job Corps.
Megan Strickland
Austin Riley of Longmont, Colo., works in the diesel mechanic shop at Kicking Horse Job Corps.
Megan Strickland
Crystal Horsley is studying to be a diesel mechanic at Kicking Horse Job Corps.
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RONAN – Crystal Horsley wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps to be a diesel mechanic.
“It’s really good pay and it’s something that’s really never going to go away,” Horsley said. “I figure it’s going to be a good job.”
The 16-year-old is on her way to receiving her own jumpsuit. She recently left her home in Ogden, Utah to spend the next 24 months training at the Kicking Horse Job Corps in Ronan. She is one of the first students to enter the program after an eight month enrollment freeze that resulted from financial restructuring after nationwide concern about money mismanagement in the federal program. Horsley and other enrollees from Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and Montana receive highly technically training to become diesel mechanics, pharmacy technicians, dental assistants, nursing assistants, culinary artists, heavy equipment operators, and facility maintenance staff.
The enrollment freeze and financial restructuring have taken a small toll on the facility. There will be fewer staff and a program in business administration has been eliminated. The biggest impact has been a substantial enrollment drop the campus is trying to remedy.
“We’re supposed to maintain 177 students at all times,” business community liaison Salisha Old Bull said. “Since the enrollment freeze, we haven’t been able to get there, so we’re really trying to get people interested in attending.”
There are spaces open for students of all ethnic backgrounds, ages 16 to 24, who will live on the campus and also for local students who commute and have reliable transportation and can arrive each day before 8 a.m. Cost of attendance, housing, transportation to the campus and equipment and supplies are paid for by the job corps. There is also a stipend paid to students to purchase toiletries.
When students have downtime they can enjoy the campus gymnasium and recreation hall, gardening in a small greenhouse and volunteering in the community. The campus just started a library and is accepting book donations.
The students have as long as two years to complete the program, but because they work at their own pace, some students have finished in as little as three to six months, Old Bull said. Some of the most popular programs like diesel mechanic, nursing assistant, and heavy equipment operating have a wait list, but according to career preparation coordinator Naomi Billedeaux, it’s worth the wait.
“This is really a great opportunity for young people,” Billedeaux said. “They can get their GED. They can get trades.”
Half of each weekday is devoted to job training, but the other half is dedicated to education. If a student already has a high school diploma or GED, they can be exempted from the education requirement. There are also opportunities to get a driver’s license. The program is a good fit for many for students who may have struggled in high school, according to education director Arlene Bigby.
“I’m a former administrator in the state of Montana so I know there are a lot of students out there who would be served well by job corps that struggle in a public education setting, or there are circumstances in their life where we could support them and help them do well,” Bigby said. “I don’t think everyone understands that, that we have that. It’s not an opposing thing. We really could be a support system for the public education system.”
Once a student completes the Kicking Horse program they receive job placement help, but also are considered successful if they go on to enroll in college or the military.
After just eight months, Kevin Robless of Polson is on the brink of completing the program with his GED, a business administration certificate and driver’s license.
“Hopefully, I’ll go to SKC over at the college,” Robless said. “I want to do computer engineering.”
His future plans wouldn’t have been possible without job corps.
“Before I came here I really didn’t have any skills to get a job, but ever since I came here I got most of the stuff I need,” Robless said. “I got some skills, my diploma. I have most everything I need to be in the workforce.”
Before he starts the next chapter of his life, Kevin will visit the Chopper Creek Job Corps this week to meet Congressman Steve Daines.
“We’re bringing Kevin with us as one of our success stories,” Old Bull said.
