CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Tennessee has added more than 280,000 net new jobs in the private sector since Bill Haslam became governor six years ago, but Haslam told business leaders here Thursday night that sustaining such job growth will require more adults to be better trained or retrained for 21st century jobs.
“Everywhere I go, the first question I get from business prospects has to do with the quality of our workforce,” Haslam told several hundred members of the Cleveland/Bradley County Chamber of Commerce at their 90th annual meeting. “Tennessee Promise (offering free community college to all qualified students) isn’t just a catchy promise. It’s critical for our future that we do better in how we educate and prepare our students for today’s jobs.”
Haslam, who is campaigning to get 55 percent of Tennesseans equipped with a college degree or certificate by the year 2025, said today only about 35 percent of the state’s workforce has any type of college degree or occupational certificate even though most jobs today require such training. Even among those who do go to college in Tennessee, 70 percent require some type of remedial course and most of those who start at some state colleges fail to get a degree.
But Haslam said Tennessee has made more progress than any state in the country in improving school standards and student performance. In the past three years, student ACT scores have improved every year and Tennessee has led the nation in gains in student performance. Last year, the high school graduation rate rose to 87 percent, the highest on record for Tennessee.
“Our teachers and educators are working much harder and we are demanding more than in the past,” Haslam said. “Schools have changed and we have an education system that recognizes that.”