Public/Private Partnership is the Foundation of Chattanooga's New Construction Career Center

摘要

To improve the quality and quantity of its regional workforce in the construction trades, AGC of East Tennessee began taking bold steps a couple of years ago. Initially, the Chattanooga-based chapter considered transitioning their 5,000-sq-ft office space into a career center for construction to offer placement services and marketing, but that didn't address the lack of construction training in the region. "We shared our concept of a construction career center with our county school system and, as it turns out, they were considering opening a new vocational school but wanted an industry partner to make it work." says Leslie Gower, CEO of AGC of East Tennessee. "At the same time, we approached Chattanooga State Community College and TCAT, and they were in the process of launching a new construction certification program." What culminated was the formation of the Construction Career Center, a construction campus that includes an AGC career and industry center, a high school vocational training program for construction, and TCAT construction training for adults, all under one roof.