Are You Short On Workers?
Are you short on workers? This is a question I’m still shocked when someone comes into our office and asks us. I want to say “where have you been the last 2 ½ years. I’m afraid many of the potential solutions lie with an elected group much higher ranking than we, but I think our role as the Chamber of Commerce is to work to find local solutions to our local issues. If we spend our coming years waiting for our federal government to all of the sudden figure out how to be productive on any level, we will likely be waiting for years to come.
The Chamber started our workforce development partnership over 10 years ago and are still developing and adapting aspects of that today. Both Walters State and Tennessee College of Applied Technology are regional leaders in workforce development supporting a 10 county labor region, but as a community, we must continue to adapt to the changing workforce needs. As we host industrial visitors in town, a few comments always stand out as I present our community to these industries. 1. Wow, you all start workforce awareness early on with students. Yes we do and we must to ensure that students understand career paths of all types and that manufacturing is more than a simple assembly line. The diversity of jobs in manufacturing is a microcosm of a city or county and understanding this better prepares our future leaders and workers. 2. Your 2 year institutions are far advanced of what we have seen in other states. Both Walters State and TCAT adapt programs as needs change and partner with industry to ensure that these changes fit the regional needs. 3. Your high schools have the same equipment and training as your 2 year institutions. Yes, this is purposeful so that the students engage in exacting training and education that they will experience at the next level of life whether it is with a college or directly into a career.
Just this week, our community has been offered another exciting workforce training opportunity that we hope to share more about soon. Please understand that we hear the workforce needs and are working to support programs, institutions and events to support these needs. Please see the attached link to watch a video many of your elementary aged children are likely watching in school today. The intent of the video is an introduction to career clusters and how diverse those opportunities are.