Workforce Services at Bell-Whitley Career Center Help Caitlin Crockett Begin Career in Nursing

Caitlin Crockett wasn’t planning for a career in nursing, but sometimes things have a way of working out. 

After graduating from Bell County High School, Crockett initially enrolled at Lincoln Memorial University in nearby Harrogate, Tn. While at LMU, though, she learned the college experience at that time wasn’t for her.  

Caitlin Crockett

“That just didn’t work out for me,” she says. “I bit off more than I could chew, I think.” 

Crockett says she later decided to join the workforce, landing a job as a certified nurse aide (CNA) with Middlesboro Health and Rehabilitation. Fortunately for her, it turned into something more than just a job. 

“I fell in love with it,” she says.  

By the fall of 2020, Crockett had returned to college, completed her basic coursework, and was ready for the next step in her career. She applied and gained acceptance into the nursing program at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. It was also during her enrollment at Southeast that she decided to sign up for workforce services at the Bell-Whitley Kentucky Career Center JobSight in Pineville.  

A partner in the Kentucky Career Center JobSight network of workforce centers, Bell-Whitley provides Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) services in Bell County under contract with Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP). Those services include programs for adults, dislocated workers, and youth who may need assistance honing skills such as résumé building or networking with local employers, or who need assistance being retrained or going to school. 

Crockett says she wanted to focus on school and decided not to work while enrolled at Southeast. So, signing up for the services available at Bell-Whitley meant that some of the cost she would incur as a student could be covered. 

Enrolling with Bell-Whitley was a straightforward process, Crockett says, adding that it mostly amounted to stopping by the Pineville center and signing some paperwork. After that, her then career advisor, Rudelle Green, determined her eligibility for the program and Bell-Whitley's WIOA services covered a lot of the materials and items she would need while in nursing school.

“I think they bought our uniforms, our shoes,” Crockett says. “Anything we needed, they paid for.” 

After Green retired, Career Advisor Tina Campbell was able to provide services to Crockett as she maintained her enrollment at Southeast. The continued support she received at Bell-Whitley was important to help ensure Crockett could afford the training, but also to graduate when she did. 

“Honestly, without it, I don’t know that I would have been able to go through the program when I did,” she says. “I would have had to have waited and saved up some money and it would have been possibly another year before I could have started.” 

Crockett graduated from Southeast in late 2022 and began working as a registered nurse (RN) with Middlesboro Health and Rehab not long after. It’s a job that doesn’t really seem like a job to her, she says, especially when she knows that her responsibility is to care for others and make sure they have what they need.  

“You know, you could make somebody’s day just by being nice,” she says. “Just talking to them and getting them to smile was fulfilling for me.” 

Crockett is at the outset of her career now and looking forward to maintaining her employment and building upon it as time passes. And looking back, she says she was fortunate to be able to complete her training when she did and credits the staff at Bell-Whitley for helping make that timeline happen. It’s something she would recommend for others who may be in similar situations. 

“I would definitely recommend that they come to one of the career JobSights,” she says. “It was vital to starting off my path to success.” 

If you’re interested in applying for career and employment services at the Bell-Whitley Kentucky Career Center JobSight, or just want to learn more, call 606-337-3044 or visit jobsight.org.  

EKCEP, a nonprofit workforce development agency headquartered in Hazard, Ky., serves the citizens of 23 Appalachian coalfield counties. The agency provides an array of workforce development services and operates the Kentucky Career Center JobSight network of workforce centers, which provide access to more than a dozen state and federal programs that offer employment and training assistance for job seekers and employers all under one roof. Learn more about us at http://www.ekcep.org or http://www.facebook.com/ekcep.