Kentucky educates its future pilots, scientists and entrepreneurs at universities and community colleges across the commonwealth.

But higher education leaders say they need building renovations or new facilities to get that job done.

Representatives from the University of Louisville and Kentucky State University asked state lawmakers today for capital funding necessary to train nurses.

As you can see from the slide, there are more than 6000 open nursing positions in Kentucky, and that number is expected to continue to grow.

It is a national issue, so we're not going to be able to attract nurses from other states because they're having shortages, that they're facing.

So that means that we have to increase the production of nurses within the Commonwealth itself.

Fortunately, we're well positioned to be able to do that.

You will currently produces more bachelors degree prepared nurses than any other university in Kentucky, and 82% of them remain in the state.

But we are out of room in our nursing school, and this new building will enable us to grow our nursing program by more than 50%.

Fastest growing program is nursing.

It's currently housed in an old infirmary.

The doors can unlock.

The air conditioning system does not work.

Currently, we have 170 plus student in the program, and the incoming class this fall is 200.

I You all will agree with me that an infirmary cannot continue to contain all these people.

So by next fall, I'm afraid we will not have a place for them to stay.

Public universities and colleges asked for billions of dollars in building and renovation funding.

The University of Kentucky alone is asking for $2 billion for new research facilities and to add 700 beds to UC's Chandler Hospital And the last budget cycle, the state allocated nearly $1.5 billion to public higher education institutions capital needs.