Madisonville Community College won the 2025 Bellwether Award in the Workforce Development category for its "From Coal to Careers,” which highlights the Lisman Workforce Complex, a training and education center repurposed from the Dotiki Mine Portal. (Photo Credit: Kentucky Community & Technical College System/Facebook)
Madisonville Community College has earned a national award for addressing a critical workforce need by bridging the skills gap and promoting economic growth, emerging as a winner from a pool of 30 national finalists and 88 total entries.
According to the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Madisonville Community College won the 2025 Bellwether Award competition in the workforce category, sponsored by the Bellwether College Consortium. Officials noted that the Bellwether Awards stand as one of the most competitive and prestigious national honors for community colleges, acknowledging innovative and impactful programs that foster student success and stimulate economic growth.
In collaboration with community partners, officials said the college transformed an administrative building at the former Dotiki Mine Portal in Webster County into the Lisman Workforce Complex, a training center focused on in-demand technical careers.
Officials said to address a regional shortage of utility line workers and CDL-certified individuals, the college increased the cohort size for both programs and targeted displaced coal workers when classes began at the complex in 2022. They added that a new diesel technology program was also introduced shortly thereafter.
Partners include the Webster County Fiscal Court, Webster County Judge Executive Steve Henry and the Green River Area Development District.
Officials reported that efforts are succeeding, with enrollment at the site growing and a 68% increase in the utility line technician program since 2019. They said graduates from the Lisman Workforce Complex have over a 93% job placement rate in their professions within six months of completion.
Bellwether also recognized a second project at Madisonville Community College aimed at bridging gaps in skilled trades as a finalist in the instructional programs and services category.
