Kentucky Community and Technical Colleges System President Ryan Quarles is visiting campuses across the state to learn how the system’s colleges can best serve their communities. In an interview with WKMS ahead of a forum at West Kentucky Community and Technical College, he spoke about KCTCS’ role in academics and workforce development in the Commonwealth.
Quarles, a former state representative who served as Kentucky’s agriculture commissioner from 2016 to 2023, assumed the leadership role at KCTCS nearly two years ago.
The KCTCS president said the system balances the need for standardizing general education class offerings across all of its colleges with letting those schools create solutions to address needs specific to their communities.
“We're 16 colleges, one system [with] a commitment towards the educational needs of every community, county and city in Kentucky, but that also means recognizing the regional needs,” Quarles said.
That, Quarles said, means some of the schools provide classes and training specific to industries in their region. For example, he said, colleges in eastern Kentucky are working to address a demand for heavy equipment operators, and also provide safety training for working in coal mines. In western Kentucky, the KCTCS president said colleges are looking to prepare for new businesses coming to the area – like the influx of nuclear energy-related projects that have been announced in Paducah.
Many jobs in these sectors, however, require some form of specialized training or education beyond what it takes to earn a high school diploma. Quarles, who started his own higher education journey by graduating from community college, argues people don’t need four-year degrees to have good lives – though he does say having some sort of post-high school education would better set them up for success.
“We encourage more Kentuckians to go to college. We need more people getting their bachelor's degree. We need more people getting their associate's degree – but at the very least, Kentuckians need a postsecondary certificate or training of some sort, and that's where a lot of our programs are,” Quarles said.
Looking ahead, KCTCS is developing a strategic plan for 2026 through 2030, with a proposed mission to “accelerate Kentucky’s economy through pathways in education, workforce development, and career readiness” and focus on student, workforce and organizational success.
Quarles said the system is working to not only give students the tools they need to succeed, but also working with employers to attract and retain businesses in the Commonwealth.
“The number one question [businesses have] now is, ‘Where are workers going to come from?’ Not just workers, but trained and skilled employees? And so more often than not, they're looking towards the local community college for assistance with training for workforce needs,” Quarles said.
“We're expected – perhaps more so than the other public [colleges and universities in Kentucky] – to have a commitment towards local workforce needs. We're constantly working with our employers and redefining and changing our curriculum and certificates so that they better align with the workforce needs of the region.”
Additionally, Quarles said KCTCS is working on renewing and upgrading its transfer agreements with all of Kentucky’s public four-year universities, including setting up “reverse transfer” options where classes a student took at a four-year institution could transfer to community colleges for credit if they end up pursuing a program at a KCTCS school.
