Local workforce development efforts expand to social media

NASHVILLE-Clay County and 18 other rural counties were the focus of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s 2024 Rural Opportunity Summit held here last week.

The annual gathering concentrated on serving at-risk and distressed counties by engaging local leaders to develop innovative solutions to the unique problems they face.

The Governor shared his vision for success and commitment to helping rural Tennessee thrive.

“Although rural America has been in decline for decades, rural Tennessee is proving to be the exception, thanks to historic investments in vocational, technical, and agricultural education that are shaping our state’s future workforce,” Lee said. “As Tennessee continues to experience unprecedented economic growth and job creation, we’ll continue our work to prioritize rural communities so that Tennesseans in every county can thrive.”

Local officials were in attendance at the two-day conference and were able to speak directly to the governor, and to other state department commissioners, in roundtable sessions.

Attendees from Clay County sat down with Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Deniece Thomas and others to address local issues.

Clay County Workforce Development (CCWD) officials were also on hand earlier this month when Thomas recently spoke at a Workforce Conference at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville.

Workforce Dev.

efforts continue

in Clay County

In addition to the Clay County Chamber of Commerce’s efforts through their successful Jobs Program, the Clay County Workforce Development committee continues to address the local unemployment rate by promoting job opportunities and working to improve Clay County’s jobless numbers.

The CCWD has established a social media presence on Facebook, where promotion of job opportunities and other information is available.

“Clay County Workforce Development is dedicated to helping grow a labor force to best meet the needs of Clay County employers,” one of their Facebook posts said.  “The committee operates under the umbrella of the Clay County ThreeStar program, with regular meetings held on the second Thursday of each month at 10 a.m. at the Chamber of Commerce in Celina.

“We also work in conjunction with the local school system to help prepare our students to enter the workforce and to introduce them to local businesses and industry.”

For many years, CCWD has held a “boot camp” for Clay County High School seniors, and the committee works with multiple regional partners who provide a wide range of expertise and viewpoints on issues facing the workforce and area employers.

“We welcome your input at monthly meetings, and if you can’t attend in person, you can join virtually,” CCWD officials said.  “If you have information regarding job openings or other appropriate material, please share it with us.

“Our mission is to match workers with employers and to help as many workers as possible find good jobs within Clay County.  This committee operates with volunteer help.  If you want to make a difference, please join us.”

Follow Clay County Workforce Development on Facebook for more information.

Rural counties

priority for Lee

When Governor Lee took office in 2019, he began an administration-wide mission to expand opportunity in rural areas.  Tennessee’s rural counties have seen tremendous success over the last year, with nearly 50 percent of overall job commitments located in rural areas, bringing the total to more than 6,400.

Clay County has seen their fair share of help from the state level, including investment in workforce development, business recruitment, critical infrastructure, education and more.

Locally and across the state, career and technical education (CTE) has been prioritized in distressed and at-risk counties like Clay County through the Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) Act, which expanded access to work-based learning, apprenticeship programs and dual enrollment courses for trade and technical programs.

More than $200 million has been allocated to improve and expand Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT) infrastructure across the state, in addition to more than $98 million for the TCAT Enrollment Initiative since 2021 to help reduce waitlist times for students to participate in vocational education programs.

A total of $1 billion has been set aside to complete the TCAT Master Plan to improve 16 existing TCATs, replace seven outdated facilities and build six new TCATs at strategic locations across Tennessee.

Lee’s continued efforts to focus on rural counties were highlighted and further promoted at this year’s Rural Opportunity Summit held at the Governor’s Residence in Nashville.

The event allowed county leaders a chance to convene and collaborate with the Lee administration.  Previous summits have been held in rural counties across Tennessee.