Workforce Development Options Provide Opportunity for Employers and Residents

The Center for Workforce Development and Continuing Education at Nashville State is providing exceptional opportunities for area residents and employers.

“We want to answer the workforce needs of employers in our communities,” Joseph Johnson, executive director of the Center for Workforce Development and Continuing Education, said.

“We want to be a connector for job seekers.”

Staffed by industry experts, the Center brings value to students and future employers.

“Our team has industry experts, whether that’s in healthcare, IT, Advanced Manufacturing or other in demand industries,” Johnson said.

“Employers are constantly having discussions with them (the Workforce Development staff) on their workforce needs and how we might be able to meet those.”

The programs offered at the Center allow students an accelerated path to transition to new careers, grow current ones, or start something new. Classes available are wide-ranging and varied, covering areas such as IT, Allied Health, to Advance Manufacturing.

One area that the Center is focused on growing is through the Advancing Equity Workforce Program.

With the help of grant funding, the Center has partnered with several community organizations, like The Urban League of Middle Tennessee, The Martha O’Bryan Center, and others, to bring Nashville State’s workforce development options to Middle Tennessee’s underserved populations.

The initiative started in May of 2023 and launched its first programs in September of 2024 and is headed by Dr. Kenisha Burke.

“This grant was created essentially because we have a wage gap in Davidson County,” Dr. Burke said. “That wage gap can be alleviated with workforce training.”

As part of the program, the Center offers scholarships to qualified participants to help lower barriers that block student success and improve access to educational opportunities. In addition to financial support, they provide dedicated career assignments and help navigate various challenges to support success.

“We are going into the community and meeting them where they are,” said Burke. “We spend time with them to help alleviate some of those roadblocks to being successful.”

The Center focuses on being adaptable to the ever-changing needs of the community.

“We pride ourselves on being agile and flexible and being able to completely customize what they (employers) need and build on a platform we may have or from scratch,” Johnson said.

That adaptability has led to partnerships with companies and institutions like Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Tennessee Oncology.

“We want employers to know we’re going to work with them and completely customize training as they need it.”

This dedication and adaptability are showing results. During the ’23-’24 academic year, the Center conducted more than 57,000 hours in non-credit classes.

In addition to their professional and certification-driven training opportunities, the Center offers individual professional development offerings.

Those options include courses such as leadership and communication skill building, as well as a host of others that can be tailor-made to fit a company’s needs.

The Center continues building on its work of community outreach with plans to develop a mobile classroom allowing them to better reach the community they serve.

Looking to the future, the team at the Center for Workforce Development & Continuing Education is committed to bridging the gap between student opportunity and area workforce needs, creating a place that will serve as a one-stop-shop for all things workforce development.

Our work “ultimately results in helping people,” said Johnson. “Our team is here to equip individuals to improve their lives.”