By Jennifer Hilinski

Graduation is supposed to be a time of celebration, but with the fragile state of the economy, looking for a job in the real world is stressful.

Former and current UK students pursuing employment will be relieved to hear that Fort Knox, a U.S. Army base south of Louisville, has opened up 1,400 new jobs, according to a news release.

Late last year the Army came to the Kentucky Secretary of Education, Helen Mountjoy, and expressed a need for better job preparation. Mountjoy sought the help of education partners at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System to create a program that would contribute to the overall growth of both students and the Army’s Human Resource Center of Excellence. It is a win-win situation, Mountjoy said.

“Kentuckians have additional resources to help them prepare, and the Army has applicants with a better understanding of the organization,” she said.

One Knox, the Lincoln Trail Workforce Investment Board, and Elizabethtown Community and Technical College have joined forces with their Army partners to develop Army 101, a one-credit hour class that will help educate and prepare job seekers for work at Fort Knox.

This online course, now available at KCTCS, teaches the basic fundamentals of the Army, including its history, culture and people, along with how it functions, according to Dr. Thelma White, ECTC’s president.

In addition, the new course gives students insight into the organizations within the Army’s Human Resource Center of Excellence.

Kim Huston, chair of the Lincoln Trail Workforce Investment Board, believes the development and lessons of Army 101 will be beneficial.

“We want to help job seekers gain knowledge that might put them in a better position to apply for jobs at the Human Resource Center of Excellence,” Huston said.

The course information has been evaluated and approved by representatives from the Human Resource Center of Excellence. Col. Scott Cottrell, Accessions Command Base Realignment and Closure coordinator, said while the completion of the course does not promise employment, it is informative and educational.

“It is one more thing a job seeker can do to prepare,” he said.