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Report: 'Substantial' need to expand college program

Adam Tamburin
USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission is asking lawmakers to expand a $10 million grant program that paired employers with colleges to develop academic programs tailored to the needs of local job markets.

The $10 million in state funding is meant to help fill a void of qualified workers that lawmakers, education leaders and industry officials say was frustrating Tennessee manufacturers.

In a report released Wednesday, the commission said the Labor Education Alignment Program, which doled out the grant funding to 12 different coalitions late in 2014, had shown "major growth and success in just the first year of implementation."

But the commission urged lawmakers to provide added funding and attention during the upcoming legislative session.

Many of the LEAP grants paid for mechatronics equipment that duplicates the robotic fixtures of a modern assembly line for students who want to go into that field. The commission found that thousands of students across 51 counties had been reached by the first wave of grant funding, including:

  • 1,591 high school students who took dual-enrollment college courses that were funded or enhanced by a grant.
  • 630 students who enrolled in community or technical college programs supported by grant-funded equipment and professors.
  • 13,363 students who participated in extracurricular programming, including internships, clubs or training.

Officials have said the program was motivated by complaints from Tennessee manufacturers who couldn't find workers with enough hands-on experience to fill high-tech factory jobs. THEC's report said that funding a larger number of coalitions moving forward would help expand the program's impact.

LEAP grants aim to fill void in Tennessee workforce

Twenty-seven coalitions initially applied for the 12 grants that were awarded in October 2014.

"The demand for expansion into other state geographic regions remains substantial," the report said. "Additional funds that enable new communities to align educational and training resources to meet the needs of new employers and work sectors would provide the opportunity for Tennessee to sharpen and maintain its competitive edge in the nation’s labor market."

THEC also recommended that state lawmakers provide funding for "relatively minimal expenses" for professor salaries and equipment maintenance that would keep the existing projects going.

And the commission suggested that "supplementary funds" be made available to help students participate in hands-on learning through paid internships or apprenticeships with local companies.

State Sen. Mark Norris, the Republican from Collierville who serves as the Senate's majority leader, sponsored the LEAP legislation in 2013. He has said he was open to proposing extra funding for LEAP initiatives moving forward.

'A new approach'

The LEAP grant program is one part of Gov. Bill Haslam's Drive to 55, which aims to boost the number of Tennesseans with a college education — with the goal of producing a more qualified state workforce.

Mike Krause, executive director of Drive to 55, said the program flips the traditional higher education model that churned out graduates who entered to the job market without any input from the businesses that might hire them.

"We ask for employers to be on the front end of the program to make sure that the program meets their needs," Krause said. "You want employers involved in those kinds of discussions."

It's a "new approach that hasn't necessarily been tried before," Krause said.

But, he added, the early information that thousands of students had participated in LEAP-funded classes in 2015 was an encouraging first step.

Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-726-5986 and on Twitter @tamburintweets.