Anderson County Chamber announces student initiative in advanced manufacturing

The Anderson County Chamber of Commerce and Anderson County Schools have partnered on a pilot program that is designed to raise student awareness of job opportunities in advanced manufacturing.

The partnership was announced by Anderson County Chamber of Commerce President Rick Meredith.

“Dream It. Do It. Tennessee is a competition that brings middle school students together with area industries to create videos that tell the stories of those industries,” Meredith said in a press release. “When they’re done, you can view the videos online and vote for your favorites.”

The program, “Dream It. Do it. Tennessee” was co-founded by the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services, the press release said. It’s the result of an ongoing need to fill the hundreds of job vacancies that go unfilled each year in advanced manufacturing, and to encourage a new generation of young people into the exciting and lucrative world of manufacturing in Tennessee.

Start-up costs for Dream It. Do It. Tennessee are underwritten by Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, the managing contractor at the Y-12 Nuclear Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas. Kristin Waldschlager is the CNS coordinator.

“Both at Y-12 and Pantex, we will need lots of skilled workers in the future,” Waldschlager said. “Dream It. Do It. Tennessee, is designed to open the eyes of middle schoolers to the possibilities of careers that they hadn’t even thought about.”

Anderson County Career and Technical School Principal Kelly Myers agreed.

“The students will get an opportunity to go ‘behind the scenes’ of local businesses and see for themselves what actually goes on,” he said. “I think they’ll be surprised and excited.”

Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Catherine Glover said the Anderson County partnership is the first formal sub licensee of Dream it. Do it. Tennessee, and is the first East Tennessee Dream it. Do it. project.

Meredith said the program could not be happening without the support of Anderson County Schools and local industries.

“The industries see the benefit for their own businesses and were willing to step up and help,” Meredith said. “The schools are excited because it opens the door for many of their students to the possibilities of a future career that might not include a four-year degree.”

The participating industries include Aisin Automotive, Techmer PM, SL Tennessee, and Eagle Bend Manufacturing. The participating schools are Clinton Middle School, Lake City Middle School, Norris Middle School, and Norwood Middle School.

The student teams and their chaperones begin their industry visits in early April. Voting by the public on the finished videos will start on April 27 through May 4 on YouTube. Winners will be announced at an awards program on May 11.

For more information, contact Janet Hawkins at the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce at (865) 457-2559.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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