Workforce Training Receives Greater Emphasis
Published Feb 23, 2009
Eastman Chemical Co., which has its headquarters in Kingsport, Tenn., emphasizes up-to-date training.
With foresight, insight and unprecedented cooperation, educators, government officials, and leaders in business and industry are working to ensure economic vitality in the Northeast Tennessee Valley region for years to come.
The initiatives now under way were spurred by erosion of the historic manufacturing base here as some jobs moved overseas. Many of the remaining jobs demanded additional training or retraining of workers.
Addressing the issues head-on has resulted in new facilities and learning opportunities for companies as well as for residents.
Emphasis on Training
Eastman Chemical Co. has a large presence in Kingsport, Tenn., both literally and figuratively. The firm was founded in 1920 by George Eastman to provide chemicals for his Eastman Kodak photography company. The chemical company split from Kodak in 1994 and now manufactures chemicals, fibers and plastics. It employs about 7,000 people in its headquarters city.
Eastman has long realized the importance of keeping pace with changing needs.
“[In 2007], Eastman announced Project Reinvest, in which the firm will invest $1.3 billion in capital expansion in Kingsport,” says Karen Rowell, director of the Tennessee Operations Support Services Division. The project will include upgrades and retrofitting existing operations. The state of Tennessee has stepped in to lend a hand with funding, including $1 million for Northeast State Technical Community College in Blountville, which provides Eastman employee training as part of the Regional Center for Applied Technology in Kingsport.
The technology center, opened to students in 2002, is part of the downtown Kingsport Academic Village, which includes the Kingsport Center for Higher Education, the Regional Center for Advanced Manufacturing and the Regional Center for Health Professions. The health center houses Northeast State’s health and nursing programs and was built with funds from the city of Kingsport; it opened in August 2008. The other two centers are scheduled to open by fall 2009.
“What we see happening is that manufacturing has gotten a black eye,” Rowell says. “People think there aren’t jobs in manufacturing left. There are jobs, but they are high-skill jobs. So the education requirements are greater. … We have an opportunity [at the manufacturing center] to show people what it’s like to work in an advanced manufacturing environment.”
Customized Courses
In addition to the programs being offered or on the horizon in Kingsport, community colleges and technology centers elsewhere are ramping up their workforce training for everything from computer programming to welding.
For example, at Mountain Empire Community College in Big Stone Gap, Va., which serves students in Lee, Scott and several other Virginia counties, the Center for Workforce Development customizes courses for business and industry.
MECC also offers dual enrollment, permitting high school students to get college credit while fulfilling the requirements for high school diplomas. “I believe … we’re motivating some students who might not otherwise do dual enrollment to discover they can do college-level work,” says Dr. Terrance Suarez, president.
At the Tennessee Technology Center in Elizabethton, Director Jerry Patton says his school can respond quickly to a call for help.
“If we have a request from business and industry to provide some kind of specialized training to help them meet their particular needs,” Patton says, “we’re able to create those programs within a very short period of time.”
Story by Anne Gillem
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