Maryville, Tenn. – The Blount Partnership and Pellissippi State Community College collaborated to host Blount County Schools Teacher’s Professional Development Day on July 24. Twenty-two Blount County Schools teachers and two administrators received first-hand knowledge about what skill sets local manufacturers are looking for when hiring employees.
Two local companies, DENSO and Newell Rubbermaid provided tours of their facilities. The group received a guided tour of the manufacturing floor.
“We have a continued need for skilled trades people,” said John Allen, Newell Rubbermaid Director of Operations. “Those are the needs we see in the near future. It’s not unique to Newell Rubbermaid. It’s an industry issue.”
Topics such as hiring needs over the next few years, what types of jobs might be available to graduates from a career and technical programs and what skills they would expect from a high school graduate, were discussed by hiring and supervisory personnel from each company.
“Outreach to teachers and our schools systems is something we are working to do,” said DENSO’s Bob Booker. “We feel like through school foundations and other interactions that we have excellent relations and we want to grow them. We are inviting teachers out to see what we do and in turn letting them know what our needs are for building a workforce.”
The Teacher’s Professional Development Day was the result of a current initiative with Rob Britt, Director of Blount County Schools, the Blount Partnership, and several local industries to focus on preparing today’s students to be “day one” career ready.
“There is a real need in Blount County to make a connection between manufacturers and the schools to not only show that a good living can be made at these places, but also what skills are need to be developed early on in order to compete for a job,” said Dave Bennett, CEO of Cherokee Millwright, who kicked off the day-long tour. “This is a great opportunity for these teachers to relate back to their students the real world applications of what they are teaching. We are fortunate to have these companies in our backyard and need to make sure the workforce they are receiving has the best training available.”
Virginia Hardwick from Staffing Solutions began the tour at Pellissippi State with a commentary about employer hiring challenges, before the two-stop bus tour began.
Additionally, recent Blount County schools graduates Jason Cooper and Kalif spoke about their entrance into the workplace and what skills they use everyday like attendance, math and reading plans.
Dave Bennett welcomes the Blount County schools teachers.
Virginia Hardwick discusses what employers are looking for during the hiring process.
The group gets a briefing at Newell Rubbermaid.
Newell Rubbermaid’s Mark Smith gives a tour of the facility.
Mark Smith talks about the different processes at Newell Rubbermaid.
Jason Cooper (L) and Kalif talk about their experiences entering the workforce out of high school.
DENSO’s Bob Booker welcomes the group before their tour.