Centers Sharpen Skills of Tennessee’s Workforce
Published Aug 25, 2008
Don Ingram, state employment security administrator, stands in a career center in Nashville.
For one West Tennessee manufacturer, state-administered training grants have helped enhance employees’ skills and educate them on topics from lean manufacturing to ergonomics to safety.
“Our facility benefits tremendously by fostering an atmosphere to reduce cost in order to remain competitive in the marketplace,” says Anita Allen, environmental, health and safety manager for fireplace manufacturer Lennox Hearth Products in Union City.
The company is just one of many in Tennessee to benefit from state services. Tennessee’s Workforce Development Board appropriates $2 million to $3 million annually for incumbent worker training, says Susan Cowden, administrator for workforce development in the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development.
In just one year, these training projects helped 142 companies serving more than 15,000 workers.
“Our mission is to bring together job seekers and employers in a way that provides for economic growth in Tennessee,” Cowden says. “For employers, we provide screening, placement and job-training grants that provide companies cost savings and job growth to keep them viable in Tennessee.”
The state also operates a network of career centers divided into 13 local workforce investment areas, which are administered by local boards.
The centers provide employers a range of services, including customized training, employee referrals and job applicant pre-screening, says Don Ingram, employment security administrator in the Department of Labor & Workforce Development.
In January 2008, Tennessee also invested $1.5 million in a statewide career readiness certificates program using ACT WorkKeys assessments of job seekers’ reading and math performance.
In Kingsport, Eastman Chemical Co.’s Tennessee operations use WorkKeys tests as pre-employment screening tools for all of its operations, maintenance and laboratory jobs. Karen Rowell, director of operations support at Eastman, says the tests are reliable predictors of a worker’s ability to learn a job.
“All of these services represent a huge value to the employer and reduce costs,” says Ingram.
Story by Paige Clancy
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