Chattanooga’s high tech manufacturing industry is growing, but area education and industry leaders are noticing that the local workforce isn’t always ready to go to work at some of the Scenic City’s fastest growing employers.
To help address this problem and continue a conversation already going on across the city, the Enterprise Gateway Council of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce recently hosted its annual BOOST Summit to address workforce development.
According to a panel of six representatives, some of the key areas for improvement across the city include developing a workforce with stronger technical skills, eliminating an outdated stigma associated with manufacturing work, reaching out to students sooner about career opportunities and developing clearer pathways for people interested in the manufacturing industry.
Skills
For companies like Alstom Power, finding skilled local labor has been difficult.