Staff photo by Doug Strickland
Gov. Bill Haslam speaks during a visit to Chattanooga State Technical Community College on Thursday, June 11, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Gov. Haslam presented the school with a $300,000 check for an industrial maintenance technology program at the school’s Kimball site.Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam on Thursday injected $300,000 into an initiative at Chattanooga State Community College that’s helping train workers for Volkswagen and the region’s other advanced manufacturers.
The money will buy equipment for the community college’s Kimball campus aimed at expanding its mechatronics program, which teaches workers how to operate and fix mechanical and electronic controls in a plant.
BY THE NUMBERS
* 34 percent: Tennesseans above age 25 who have four- or two-year degrees or technical certificates* 55 percent: Jobs which 10 years from now will require a degree or certificate* $2.1 millon: Planned investment for Chattanooga State campus expansion in KimballSource: State of Tennessee
“We’re responding to [VW’s] desires and others,” said Haslam in Chattanooga at the college’s automotive shop.