Jamie Stitt
Assistant Commissioner, Business and Workforce Development
Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
312 Rosa L. Parks Ave., Nashville, TN 37243Common Search Terms
What we do best is what you do best.
Your competitive advantage is our level of craftsmanship, accomplished by skilled hands and passionate knowledge. We excel in those industries that rely on our greatest resource: a dedicated and highly skilled workforce. From global giants to homegrown startups, industry thrives in Tennessee.
To make the best products, you need the best people.
In Tennessee, we’ve created innovative workforce partnerships and game-changing education reform for skills in high demand. The result is a steady pipeline of qualified candidates.
Tennessee is leading the way nationwide in K-12 education reform. We have continued that momentum and expanded our focus to include post-secondary education through innovative initiatives including: Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE), Drive to 55 and the Tennessee Promise.
The Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) initiative, part of Governor Bill Lee’s legislative agenda, is a two-pronged approach to expand access to vocational and technical training for Tennessee high school students. The GIVE initiative invests $25 million in competitively awarded community grants that will fund regional partnerships between high schools, industry, and Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs) to build new work-based learning/apprenticeship programs, market-driven dual-credit opportunities, and the expansion of industry-informed career and technical education offerings.
Drive to 55 aims to bring the percentage of Tennesseans with college degrees or certifications to 55 percent by the year 2025. It’s not just a mission for higher education; it’s also a mission for workforce and economic development.
More than 123,000 students have enrolled in the Tennessee Promise, which commits to providing two years of community or technical college absolutely free of tuition and fees to graduating high school seniors on a continual basis. The first class of Tennessee Promise students entered school and the workforce training pipeline in the Fall of 2015. Since its inception, Tennessee Promise has helped Tennessee students cover over $181 million in college costs.
We are the first state in the country to make this promise. It makes a clear statement to Tennessee families that education beyond high school is a priority in our state. It’s also a promise to current and prospective employers: When you bring your business to Tennessee, you’ll have the support of a devoted and highly skilled workforce.
Quick Facts
381k+
Current students enrolled in college or graduate school
1.9+
Million people with an associate degree or higher
80+
Post-secondary institutions in Tennessee
54.3%
College Going Rate for the Class of 2022, which represented a one and a half percentage point increase over the previous year.
4.8
Million Tennesseans Over 18 with a High School degree or higher
3.3+
Million Tennesseans employed in March 2025
3.9k
Graduates in engineering, engineering technologies and engineering-related fields, an increase of 10 percent since 2011
Students in Tennessee were awarded over 80,500 degrees and certificates in 2021, in dozens of programs.
College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee
SPOT-LOWE VOCATIONAL CENTER
31,000+ Tennessee Promise students have earned a credential since the program began
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Higher education in Tennessee
- 11 public universities and special purpose institutes
- 34 independent colleges and universities
- 13 community colleges
- 24 Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (occupational and technical training)
- More than 381,000 people enrolled in college in 2021
- 63,800+ graduates with an Associate’s degree or higher in 2022
Education reform
Tennessee is leading the nation in education reform.
- The percentage of Tennesseans (age 25-64 years) with a high school diploma or equivalent increased from 89.1 percent to 90.9 percent from 2016 to 2021. (U.S. Census)
- The percentage of Tennesseans (age 25-64 years) with an associate’s degree or higher increased from 35.7 % to 40.3% from 2016 to 2021, which is a 12.8 percent increase (U.S. Census)
- In addition, the number of Tennesseans (age 25-64 years) with a bachelor’s degree or higher increased by 15.3 percent, from 27.7 percent to 32.0 percent, over this same time period.
- Currently, approximately 58,500 full-time students are enrolled at Tennessee’s community colleges and colleges of applied technology. (Tennessee Higher Education Commission, 2021-2022)
- Through Tennessee Promise, beginning in 2015, high school graduates in Tennessee can attend a community college or college of applied technology for two years absolutely free of tuition and fees.
Students in Tennessee were awarded over 80,500 degrees and certificates in 2021, in dozens of programs, including the top twenty below:
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Top 20 Programs (based on completions) 2021 Completions Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 10,645 Business Administration, Management and Operations 6,522 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 6,004 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions 2,881 Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services 2,406 Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 2,405 Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services 1,916 Psychology, General 1,743 Criminal Justice and Corrections 1,586 Biology, General 1,542 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 1,526 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants 1,471 Accounting and Related Services 1,291 Precision Metal Work 1,281 Social Work 1,237 Educational Administration and Supervision 1,225 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians 1,165 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other 1,125 Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions 1,073 Communication and Media Studies 1,000 -
Educational Milestones
- Tennessee was one of the first two states in the nation awarded $501 million in federal Race to the Top funds for education reform.
- Tennessee was one of the first states to implement a comprehensive, student outcomes-based, statewide educator evaluation system.
- We were the first state to fund higher education institutions based on outcomes instead of enrollment, ensuring that every student is making progress toward a degree and ultimately leaving with a credential that has value in the labor market.
- Tennessee’s Four-Year adjusted Cohort Graduation Rates (ACGR) increased 5.8% from 2011 to 2019 and achieved a 90-percent graduation rate in 2020 (Source: Building a Grad Nation Report, America’s Promise Alliance)
- The Governor’s Investment in Vocation Education (GIVE) initiative, part of Governor Bill Lee’s legislative agenda, is a two-pronged approach to expand access to vocational and technical training for Tennessee high school students.
- The GIVE initiative invests $25 million in competitively awarded community grants that will fund regional partnerships between high schools, industry, and Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs) to build new work-based learning/apprenticeship programs, market-driven dual-credit opportunities, and the expansion of industry-informed career and technical education offerings.
- The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) is Tennessee’s largest higher education system, governing 37 post-secondary educational institutions with over 200 teaching locations. The TBR system includes 13 community colleges and 24 colleges of applied technology, providing programs to students across the state, country and world.
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World-class partnerships
Tennessee is home to a number of innovative education and workforce partnerships:
- In 2017, Nissan partnered with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) in Murfreesboro to open a training center in Smyrna for careers in advanced manufacturing. These training programs are part of Tennessee’s strategy to create a pipeline of high-skilled workers in the state.
- Volkswagen joined forces with Chattanooga State Community College to develop two three-year mechatronics degree programs accredited by the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce.
- Bridgestone partnered with Motlow State Community College to develop a mechatronics program based on the Siemens Mechatronics Systems approach to advanced manufacturing. It’s the only program in the U.S. to offer a three-step pathway for advanced manufacturing education.
- Educational institutions in Tennessee are also partnering together to better train Tennessee’s workforce. Credit transfer programs now exist between TCAT-Morristown & Northeast State as well as TCAT-Knoxville & Pellissippi State.
- Electrolux and the Workforce Investment Network (WIN) partnered to provide training through WIN’s Industrial Readiness Training program. Classes are based upon Electrolux’s specifications and training requirements, and are offered at the Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis.
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Applicant recruitment
Our applicant recruitment team is comprised of representatives from the Tennessee Career Centers, state agencies, local officials and education providers work in collaboration with your company’s human resource personnel to ensure a quick and efficient delivery of services. Most importantly, the members of the our team makes every effort to customize all aspects of the recruitment process to meet the specific needs of your company.
Our recruitment process fills thousands of job openings annually. Job orders detailing the necessary job requirements can be placed with one or more of the 75 Tennessee Career Centers located throughout the state detailing the necessary job requirements. The Tennessee Career Centers will immediately match qualified job candidates to the company’s job openings. The job order will also receive statewide and national exposure through the Jobs4TN.gov website, Tennessee’s premier online job resource center for candidates and prospective employers. The talent recruitment process continues with pre-screening, assessment and testing, interviewing and pre-hire training.
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Workforce Development Programs
Drive to 55:
Initiative to equip 55% of Tennesseans with post-secondary credential by 2025.
Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education Act
The Governor’s Investment in Vocation Education (GIVE) initiative, part of Governor Bill Lee’s legislative agenda, is a two-pronged approach to expand access to vocational and technical training for Tennessee high school students. The initiative invests $25 million in competitively awarded community grants that will fund regional partnerships between high schools, industry, and Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs) to build new work-based learning/apprenticeship programs, market-driven dual-credit opportunities, and the expansion of industry-informed career and technical education offerings.
The initiative also provides additional lottery funding to high school juniors and seniors to utilize four fully-funded dual enrollment credits for trade and technical programs. Previously, high school students only had access to two fully-funded dual enrollment credits. The funding expansion will be given only to those students enrolling in programs that directly address workforce needs identified by the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC) board of directors.
Dual Enrollment Course Increase
The Dual Enrollment Grant program is funded by the Tennessee Lottery and administered by the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation. This program provides opportunities for students to earn an initial technical credential or a semester of college credit free of tuition and fees, while still pursuing a high school diploma.
Tennessee Promise
Beginning in Fall 2015, high school graduates can attend one of our 13 Tennessee Community College or 2 Tennessee College of Applied Technology College completely free of tuition and fees.
Tennessee Reconnect
Tennessee the first state in the nation to offer all citizens, both high school graduates and adults, the chance to earn a postsecondary degree or certificate free of tuition and fees and at no cost to taxpayers.
Labor Education Alignment Program (LEAP)
Tennessee Labor Education Alignment Program (LEAP) ensures that post-secondary institutions are producing the skills and credentials that Tennessee employers actually need.
Tennessee LEAP eliminates skills gaps across the state in a proactive, data-driven and coordinated manner by encouraging collaboration across education and industry and by utilizing regional workforce data to identify and then fill skills gaps across the state.
With a competitive grant distribution of $10 million in 2015, state funds are being utilized to support local alignment groups to develop skills gap forecasts, identify the highest priorities, and develop programs or purchase equipment needed to fill those gaps.
Workforce360°
Tennessee aims to be the most aligned state in the nation between workforce, education and industry. Enter Workforce360°, a systematic partnership among state agencies and the higher education system that delivers a highly skilled workforce for your business.
The best solutions are most often achieved through a collaborative approach. When companies allow us to become an extension of their workforce development and recruitment efforts, we are able to provide support that is truly unique to your business. Our project based system works with your company to identify workforce gaps and streamlines solutions across Tennessee by utilizing state department communications, interaction and resources. Region-based tactical teams provide a timely response to immediate business workforce needs, as well as strategic planning for long-term requirements.
Tennessee’s attractive business environment, integrated supply chain, skilled workforce, and supportive regulation means we can rapidly develop our operations to supply the growing energy storage, solar power, aluminum and EV markets.
- Jayson Tymko, CEO, Sinova Global
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