Nashville State, Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Local Industries and Students Hold Apprenticeship Signing Day in Waverly
Nashville State Community College and Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, along with the Tennessee Board of Regents, local employers from Benton, Dickson and Humphreys counties and student apprentices participated in an official signing event at the college’s Humphreys County campus on Holly Lane.
Students in Nashville State’s Industrial Process Control Technology degree program were on hand to sign formal apprenticeship letters of commitment with Jones Plastic and Engineering, located in Camden, Dickson County’s Tennsco LLC, and Chemours, located in New Johnsonville.
At the end of the apprenticeship, each participant will be a certified Electro Mechanical Technician or Industrial Electrical Engineering Technician.
Students work during their apprenticeships, earning wages while acquiring on-the-job training in the manufacturing industry. While working in the field, apprentices will also receive classroom instruction in industrial processing.
Nashville State President Dr. Shanna L. Jackson, said, “It is a win-win for our students and local industry. As a workforce solutions partner, we will continue to seek innovative ways to make sure our employers have skilled professionals and our students lasting careers.”
“Apprenticeship is a tried-and-true method to develop and maintain qualified employees,” said TDLWD Commissioner Jeff McCord. “Jones Plastic and Engineering, Tennsco, and Chemours are three more Tennessee employers who realize the benefits of Registered Apprenticeship programs and how these public-private partnerships can advance workforce development across our state.”
Under the leadership of Nashville State, which is now a federally registered workforce development apprenticeship entity under the U.S. Department of Labor, Jones Plastic and Engineering, Tennsco LLC and Chemours saw the potential to continue being a local driver of workforce development.
“The success of any manufacturing company relies heavily on a labor force that has the level of trade-skills required to maintain the equipment and machinery used in the production process. We have partnered with Nashville State so students can continue their education with a hands-on learning experience,” said Tennsco’s Vice President of Human Resources Tamara James.
“This program will expose the students to what is required when working in a manufacturing setting, and hopefully provide us with our next generation of industrial manufacturing technicians to keep our future production processes in motion,” James added.
“The level of skill that is exhibited by the apprentices is extremely beneficial to our manufacturing organization. The talent these students bring into our workforce is extraordinary. It has been our pleasure to be a partner with such an outstanding program, and we look forward to our continued alliance with Nashville State Community College in assisting with the development of these students,” said Tonia Brown-Thomason, Jones Plastic and Engineering Human Resource Manager.
Kristi Spurgeon, Human Resource Manager with Chemours, added, “This apprenticeship program is important for Chemours to maintain the pipeline of local talent for skilled positions such as electrical and mechanical, which are extremely important for site operations. The partnership we have established with Nashville State has been very successful in developing this talent.”
During the ceremony, Tennessee Board of Regents Assistant Vice Chancellor for Economic and Community Development Nathan Garrett praised the public-private partnership.
“The apprenticeship training model highlighted in this partnership demonstrates our ability to build an industry-driven training program that provides a well-structured pathway for companies to acquire skilled workers, while also providing Tennesseans an opportunity to earn-while-they-learn a valuable skilled occupation.”
Garrett added, “Our College System has placed a very high priority on apprenticeships as another important workforce development initiative – and this Nashville State program is a perfect example that furthers that effort.”
