Tennessee Training

State puts workforce education at the forefront

By Sharon H. Fitzgerald

Even if the needed instruction is overseas or underground, Tennessee’s state education experts are ready to coordinate and fund workforce training for prospective or expanding business and industry.

“I’m not sure how effective our efforts would have been without the state’s training incentives,” says Beth Alexander about two recent economic development success stories in Cumberland County. Alexander is president and chief executive officer of the Crossville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce. “With Stone Peak, the FastTrack Program actually sent some of our local people to Italy to train. I know we wouldn’t have gotten very far without that.”

With 150 employees, Stone Peak will officially open its doors on June 11. The first U.S. operation of Italy-based flooring giant GranitiFiandre, Stone Peak will produce ceramic tiles. The state’s FastTrack Program, which is designed to accelerate state and local response to potential or expanding industry, provided funding and coordination for the unique training opportunity.

Meanwhile, some newly hired residents of the Cumberland Plateau will soon be learning the ins and outs – or, rather, the ups and downs – of underground coal mining. Hillsborough Resources Limited, headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, completed the acquisition earlier this year of two mining operations in Cumberland County. Hillsborough President and CEO David Slater says he’s “delighted with the warm welcome given to Hillsborough by all levels of government in Tennessee. Their expressions of support, both tangible and intangible, were a significant determining factor in our going forward with this investment.”

For Jim Farmer, director of the FastTrack Job Training Assistance Program, the challenge of compiling an education incentive package for a deep-shaft mining operation was a first. “I believe we’re entering an era where we’re starting to see some things that are well within our means to support, but that we never saw before,” says Farmer, who’s been in the business for more than two decades.

FastTrack Job Training brings to the table various instruction options offered by the state Department of Economic and Community Development, Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and higher education institutions. Farmer works closely with the 26 Tennessee Technology Centers across the state, which can either host training or serve as a resource for instructors.

“When it comes to job-specific training, more than likely it will be someone from the company who will come to the Technology Center and actually do the standup. For generic subjects, such as machine setup or hydraulics, the expertise could well be in-house at the Technology Center,” Farmer explains. As in the case of Stone Peak, the state is also willing to foot the bill for workers to travel for custom training in another state or internationally.

“The good thing about our training program is the flexibility,” he says. “If they have a specialized machine in Cincinnati, for example, we’ll send folks there.”

Working closely with ECD is Labor and Workforce Development, with training initiatives of its own. “We’re in the loop on every industry that wants to come to Tennessee,” says Labor Commissioner Jim Neeley, who explains that his department “undergirds” the work of ECD.

On the ground floor of his department’s efforts are the Tennessee Career Centers, a network of facilities statewide offering employment services to both employers and job seekers. Neeley says often it’s the professionals at these sites who first hear of training needs in a community. “The Tennessee Career Centers interplay a lot with the local industries,” he says. “If there’s a plant that needs training in Clarksville, for example, the Career Center will be one of the first entities that’s aware of that and will notify us.”

Taking care of existing industry is a Department of Labor specialty. “After all, we create more jobs through existing industries than we do by new plants coming into Tennessee,” Neeley notes. The Incumbent Worker Training Program provides grants for customized training of full-time workers at an existing industry. The idea is to help Tennessee businesses remain competitive by honing workers’ skills. More than 50 companies have taken advantage of the program, to the tune of nearly $1.5 million. The average grant is about $19,000.

Helping Tennessee adult residents who haven’t finished high school attain a GED is another program of Neeley’s department. Dubbed GED NOW, the program picks up the $50-$65 test fee, which has been a barrier for some individuals. Today, more than 3,000 Tennesseans have a GED because of the program.

“It’s just too important to economic development in this state,” Neeley says. “It’s just like the Pre-K initiative. It’s very important for us to get individuals started out right, but at the same time, we can’t let individuals drop through the cracks who need additional education. So I felt it was necessary to get involved in that.”

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen says the earning potential of people with a GED “is up substantially. That’s not only good for our citizens, it’s very good for recruiting and retaining business.”

The governor has made education at all levels a cornerstone of his administration. His proposal for a voluntary pre-kindergarten program received General Assembly approval in May, and he has spearheaded the Governor’s Books From Birth Foundation. Tennessee preschoolers in participating counties receive a hardback book monthly through the mail. “It’s just one of the many ways we try to develop that love of books and that love of learning,” Bredesen says. The result, he adds, is children better prepared for school – and therefore better educated when the time comes to enter Tennessee’s workforce.