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Tennessee Reconnect program guarantees tuition-free technical training for those 24 and older
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Colleges of Applied Technology are in Chattanooga, Athens, Harriman and Crossville in Southeast Tennessee. Adults have until May 15 to sign up for the Tennessee Reconnect program at www.TNReconnect.gov where they will be guided through the process.
Javier Irizarry was a single father of two in 1991 when he realized “how hard it is to raise children without a college education,” he said Friday at an event here to launch the new Tennessee Reconnect program aimed at adults who want a fresh shot at a new career.
Maybe you’re like Irizarry and were forced into the job market too early. Or your start at a four-year university was thwarted by turns in life or the economy. Or you just want a better job.
Tennessee Reconnect, a new, tuition-free program, can get you back in the game.
Jaimee Connor, left, and Susan Dragovic practice on a mannequin at Chattanooga State.Irizarry plans to use it to launch his second career through a new degree in industrial electricity. He wants to open his own business. In 1996, he became a licensed practical nurse through Chattanooga State Community College, a career he stuck with for 18 years as he raised his children.
But over the years, as he worked with his elderly patients, Irizarry realized that many older homeowners had a hard time affording upkeep.
“I am 48 years old. I am good example of what these programs can do for you,” Irizarry said.
Tennessee Reconnect is a statewide program that provides anyone 24 or older a way to attend one of Tennessee’s 27 technical schools free of charge, according to Gov. Bill Haslam, who was in Chattanooga on Friday to promote it.
Governor Bill Haslam speaks about the Drive to 55 initiative Friday, April 10, 2015, in the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Chattanooga State Community College in Chattanooga.The program is an initiative of the Drive to 55 campaign to get at least 55 percent of Tennessee’s citizens at least a two-year degree or technical certificate by 2025 to keep pace with demands of the job market. According to Haslam, about 55 percent of the jobs available in Tennessee by 2025 will require a postsecondary credential.
Haslam said that now about 33 to 34 percent of the population in Tennessee has met those standards, but to reach the 55-percent goal adults have to join the effort. He said the program is open to students who received HOPE scholarship money but didn’t finish school.
“We’re not going to get to 55 percent without looking to adults,” he said.
Tennessee Reconnect is part of Haslam’s Tennessee Promise legislation passed in 2014 to give graduating high school seniors free tuition at a technical or community college through funds provided by the Tennessee Lottery.
Haslam said Tennessee Reconnect offers Volunteer State residents another avenue to go beyond a high school diploma.
Of the people who start a program, Tennessee’s technical colleges graduate more than 80 percent, Haslam said. About 86 percent of people who receive a technical diploma or certificate get placed in jobs. He said the applied technology school in Chattanooga places about 90 percent of the 71 percent who graduate.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.