The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry, which also serves as the Tennessee Manufacturers Association, is partnering with LIFT – Lightweight Innovations For Tomorrow, a Manufacturing USA institute – to build a robust pipeline of talent for the state’s manufacturing industry. This includes strengthening educational pathways to postsecondary manufacturing-related credentials that prepare individuals for good jobs in advanced manufacturing, a key tenet of Governor Bill Haslam’s “Drive to 55 Alliance.”
Together, LIFT and the Tennessee Chamber will share insights on innovations to identify and promote new opportunities in the manufacturing sector, in turn, encouraging more people, from students to experienced workers, to consider manufacturing as a career choice.
LIFT, one of the founding members of Manufacturing USA, part of the federal government’s National Network of Manufacturing Innovation program, is a public-private partnership designed to help develop and deploy advanced lightweight metal manufacturing technologies, and implement education and training programs to better prepare the workforce of today and tomorrow.
“Manufacturers in our state employ nearly 350,000 people and to support and grow jobs going forward, we need to create a sustainable pipeline of workers with the talent and skills the industry demands,” said Bradley Jackson, president and CEO, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry. “By partnering with a national institute like LIFT, we will be able to connect the many resources we have across our state to achieve that goal.”
Sixteen percent of the gross state product is generated by the manufacturing sector and the need to support the industry with skilled workers in the future spurred the Drive to 55 Alliance, in which private sector companies, nonprofits and other leaders are coming together to ensure at least 55 percent of Tennesseans have a college degree or industry credential by 2025.
“We believe the U.S. can only be a global leader in advanced manufacturing if we have an educated and skilled workforce that is confident in using new technologies and processes,” said Emily DeRocco, education and workforce development director, LIFT. “We are proud to partner with the Tennessee Chamber and applaud Gov. Haslam and the Drive to 55 Alliance for their commitment to manufacturing and the workers of today and tomorrow.”
As part of the partnership with LIFT, the Tennessee Chamber will join and collaborate with other partnering state organizations in the LIFT region of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, including manufacturers and educational institutions.