Oak Ridge Today

Anderson County Higher Education Center opens

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The Anderson County Higher Education Center has opened on Frank L. Diggs Drive in Clinton. (Photo by Roane State Community College)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

The new Anderson County Higher Education Center “is an example of what should be happening” to spur workforce development, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee told a large crowd on Friday, December 10.

Gesturing to students in the back who will be attending classes at the center starting in January, Lee thanked them for “pursuing the path you’re pursuing.

“The private sector drives what we’re doing here,” Lee told attendees crowded into the spacious classroom where diesel powered technology will soon be taught.

In the planning and construction stages for years, the center will soon offer several Roane State Community College and Tennessee College of Applied Technology Knoxville classes.

It’s a 48,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility where more than 200 students will be enrolled. It cost $11 million, and SL Tennessee, an auto parts manufacturer next door, donated seven acres for the center, located on Frank L. Diggs Drive in the Clinton/I-75 Industrial Park.

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Roane State, SL Tennessee starting apprenticeship program

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Tyra Copas, state apprenticeship director, workforce services, talks to local employers and educators about Tennessee’s initiative to boost apprenticeship programs during a question-and-answer session at Roane State Community College’s Clinton Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility. (Submitted photo)

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Roane State Community College is joining the state’s growing movement to better train new workers by sponsoring apprenticeship programs with area businesses and industries. The college is currently working with one of Anderson County’s biggest employers.

“We will be working with SL Tennessee and our Middle College students in mechatronics to develop programs of study and identify specific apprenticeship tasks,” said Kim Harris, the college’s director of workforce training and placement.

“We look forward to working closely with Roane State in starting the apprenticeship program,” said SL Tennessee Director Scott Laska. “We believe that this program will help solve our skills gap in our operation and provide meaningful career opportunities for the community.”

SL Tennessee, located in the Clinton Interstate 75 Industrial Park, manufactures automotive parts and is near Roane State’s Clinton Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility. The college’s classes in mechatronics—the engineering of electrical and mechanical systems—are offered there.

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Safety Fest TN to open with panel on regional workforce development

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The opening session for Safety Fest TN this year will feature a panel on regional workforce development.

The kick-off event is from 8:30-11 a.m. Tuesday, April 30, at the New Hope Center at Y-12 National Security Complex.

That opening session will include a discussion by influential educators and employers on regional workforce development challenges, a press release said. The panel will be called, “Facing Future Workforce Development Needs Today.”

“Panelists will discuss the challenges associated with attracting, hiring, and retaining the brightest and best of all skill levels to our region while exploring approaches they are implementing to meet those challenges,” the press release said.

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