J. Marty Lowe, Main Street Innovations Co-CEO 
Bruce Trantham, brother to Byron and Co-CEO of Tranco Logistics. 
U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, Tranco Logistics and Main Street Innovations have entered a partnership that could increase employment among under served populations and lead to a new technical school in Chattanooga in the coming year.
The partnership has been approved by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to launch Tranco Tech Lab, LLC, a vocational and technical lab that will be located at 1901 E. 29th St.
It will start as a truck-driving school and gradually include classes like welding and HVAC installation and repair.
"The wheels are rolling," said Byron Trantham, co-owner, CEO at Tranco, a truck driving transportation and warehousing company.
Trantham, who owns the company with twin brother Bruce, said he expects to roll out the driving portion of the school within the next six months. They expect to spend about $400,000 getting certifications, computers and a truck and trailer for the school.
Tranco is paying to set up the school out of pocket. But Trantham said the brothers also are seeking scholarships to keep tuition costs down. Most students pay about $3,900 for truck-driving classes that enable them to get Class A driver's license. The class can be completed in about five weeks.
Main Street Innovations, a human resources and staffing company co-owned by Donna Christian Lowe and her husband, Marty, formed the division MSi Workforce Solutions LLC, to supply the school and Tranco with job applicants. The candidates are from all backgrounds including minorities, women and veterans. The job candidates are looking for well-paying jobs with companies that value disciplined and team-oriented employees, according to an emailed statement by MSi Workforce Solutions.
The school will also train potential employees who will be hired by other companies.
The Tranthams had planned to start only a truck-driving school before talking with the Lowes who encouraged them to consider a technical school that would prepare more under-served local residents for the workforce. And the Lowes recommended that the school not be located on the outskirts of town, but in the inner city where it's easily accessible to people in communities such as East Lake, Clifton Hills and Alton Park, where unemployment rates are high.
"We want to help the unemployable," Lowe said. "Those who don't have a high school diploma and those who do have one but maybe they're behind on child support and their [driver's] license has been taken away."
The group also reaches out to people who have felony records.
"Staffing companies are turning these people away, saying, 'Hey, go get this fixed and then come back,'" Lowe said. "We're different in that we're focused on workforce development."
Marty Lowe said he knows several churches teaching financial stewardship and life skills to people who would appreciate the technical school and he plans to encourage them to apply.
U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., visited Tranco and Main Street Innovations in November as the group launched its partnership. Donna Christian Lowe attended Fleischmann's Workforce Summit in 2015.
Workforce development is a need that cuts across political lines, Fleischmann said.
"The big need is getting a qualified workforce in a position where employers can get the employees they need," Fleischmann said while touring the Tranco site on Shallowford Road.
Tranco was working on getting certifications for the school when Fleischmann visited.
Tranco already has one employee who is a certified driver examiner for the state. The company has sent another person to Nashville to become certified so students won't have to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles for their test, Trantham said.
He said he's not trying to compete with Miller-Motte, Chattanooga State and other technical schools, whose programs already are full. Instead, he said, the partnership with MSi Solutions seeks students who are not already enrolled in school.
Trantham said he and his brother grew up in a single-parent home. They were the first in their family to graduate college and they want to help other people, especially people whose mistakes left them excluded from the workforce. He said his company has hired several people with criminal records and most of them turned out to be good workers.
"You offer opportunity to people who are unhireable. They're going to be dedicated," Trantham said.
There's a big need for drivers, not only at Tranco but other trucking companies.
"We have work available to us where we could put on another 10 trucks, easy," he said. "The problem is trying to find 10 people to put in the seats to drive the trucks."
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.