Tennessee College of Applied Technology-McMinnville and the Warren County Chamber of Commerce are spearheading a unique effort to determine the current and future needs of the eight communities they serve.
“This is a new beginning in our efforts to make sure we are training the right workforce for our area,” said TCAT director Dr. Warren Laux. “Our goal is to better respond to the needs of our service area. In order to do that, we need to brainstorm with individuals from those communities.”
A Workforce Training Needs Assessment conference was held with all eight service area Chamber directors in attendance along with economic development representatives.
Also in attendance from TCAT was Terri Bryan, business solutions and workforce developer.
“This was a unified effort to identify and discuss workforce needs,” said Bryan. “During the meeting we held a roundtable discussion on present and future needs in workforce development.”
Said McMinnville-Warren County Chamber director Mandy Eller, “This project is a crucial step forward in efforts to close the skills gap in our community. TCAT-McMinnville aims to provide the exact skills training existing employers need, which in turn makes the student more immediately employable, providing a win-win for employers and employees with the potential for both short-term and long-term economic growth.”
Eller said the Chamber recently developed a survey for employers to assess the skills gap with a broad approach, ranging from education levels, soft skills, management skills, to more specific training on job-related tasks. The survey will be used by TCAT as well.
As an extension of the conference, Paige Chastain with the local Chamber presented a vital component of workforce development in the form of a survey that will be distributed to the Chamber members in the eight service areas in an attempt to collect data for TCAT-McMinnville that can be used to support new programs.
“Before we can start new programs, we have to have the area data to establish need,” said Laux. “We have to make sure the need is there with actual documented data. The data will also allow us to see if we are meeting current workforce requirements, a checkpoint to make sure we are satisfying the needs of the community. This survey will be invaluable to us.”
For more information about Tennessee College of Applied Technology and the programs offered, visit www.tcatmcminnville.edu or call 473-5587.
Those who attended the conference included Warren County Chamber representatives Mandy Eller and Paige Chastain, Sequatchie-Dunlap Chamber representatives Marlene Basham and Melissa Tibbs, Van Buren Chamber representative Marilyn Baker, Warren County Schools CTE director Tracy Risinger, Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber representative Suzanne Williams, Southeast Region Economic Development consultant Stephanie Hamby, Warren County Industrial Development Board director Don Alexander, Middle Tennessee Industrial Development Association representative Kendrick Curtis, Cannon County Chamber president Gary Hancock; Sparta-White County Chamber president Marvin Bullock; Manchester Chamber representatives Terri Hudson and Margie Lowe, and South Cumberland Plateau Chamber director John Payne.