for Career & Technical Education Partnership to Enhance Career and Workforce Readiness
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Gov. Bill Lee and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission have announced that TCAT Nashville has been awarded a $1,845,162 grant through the Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) program.
The GIVE program, established soon after Gov. Lee took office in 2019, is designed to address skills gaps in Tennessee’s workforce by supporting the development of career pathways that connect postsecondary institutions with local K-12 school systems and local employers.
This is the third round of GIVE grants to be awarded and will allocate a total of $41 million to foster regional partnerships between community colleges, Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs), and local industries. The new funding will support 23 projects statewide, through partnerships based at 20 different community colleges and TCATs.
TCAT Nashville applied for a GIVE grant to establish the new dual enrollment programs at two MNPS high schools. The program is a partnership with Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Tennessee Titans, Turner Construction, Perkins Construction, Eclipse Construction Group, Empower Electric, and Tudor Build Group.
The GIVE grant provides support to create dual enrollment programs embedded at McGavock High School and Glencliff Highschool. The programs will train students for careers in the building trades sector focusing on Industrial Electricity and Build Construction Technology. This effort will create high quality training programs equipped with state-of-the-art technology supported by committed industry leaders.
Nathan Garrett, president of TCAT Nashville, said, “We are thrilled to receive the GIVE 3.0 grant, which will allow us to create dual enrollment programs in partnership with MNPS. This initiative is a testament to the strong collaboration between our college, the local community, industry, and our dedicated educators. Together, we are opening doors to higher education and creating new pathways for our students to achieve their academic and career goals. This is more than just an investment in our schools; it’s an investment in the future of our entire community.”
In announcing the new round of GIVE grants, Gov. Lee said, “The state with the workers will win every time, and that’s why workforce development has been one of my top priorities since day one. As a result, companies are choosing to invest and expand in our state, creating greater opportunity and quality of life for all Tennesseans.”
Since creating GIVE, the state has invested $91.5 million into the program to support rural workforce development through technical education. The first and second rounds of GIVE funding in 2019 and 2021 served an estimated 15,500 students. Tennessee has made notable progress in rural workforce development which has resulted in securing over 41,500 new jobs and nearly $19 billion in capital investment in rural counties since 2019.
Grants of up to $2 million each are awarded through the GIVE program to collaborative efforts that create or expand academic programs, develop work-based learning experiences, or provide industry-recognized certifications in areas of high demand. This initiative not only aims to meet the current needs of employers but also to stimulate economic growth by ensuring that Tennessee’s education system is aligned with workforce requirements.
Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora W. Tydings commended the colleges for initiating the partnerships and applying for and winning the grants to benefit career and technical education in their communities. “The programs and projects funded by this latest round of GIVE grants will create many new opportunities for Tennesseans to learn career-building skills to compete and advance in today’s technology-based economy, benefitting their families across generations and building strong communities.
“Our community and technical colleges are the front-line providers of academic, career, and technical education. We’re grateful to Governor Lee and the General Assembly for recognizing the need to bridge the skills gap and establishing the GIVE program to help close it,” Dr. Tydings said.
More information on the GIVE initiative is here, and the Governor’s media release with the full list of recipients awarded is here.
