Workforce Development & Education Summit Follow-Up Meeting Agenda

Innovation Valley Inc. will host a follow-up meeting to the March Workforce Development and education Summit, on Tuesday June 10th at the Cokesbury United Methodist Center. This meeting will provide a forum for the community to discuss and adopt action plans to address the challenges that were identified at the March Summit. To register or for more information please contact Ahnna Estes, 865-246-2658.

Here are the Summit reports:

Reports from the Workforce Summit:
Final Summit Report
Appendix 1: Summit Notes
Appendix 2: What to Do For Schools List
Appendix 3: Summit Evaluations

AGENDA

8:30 – 9:00AM Exhibition of Organizations: A showcase of area organizations offering existing services and resources that support education and workforce development.

9:00 – 9:30AM Panel Discussion: Perspectives from primary stakeholder groups on their role in education and the development of our future workforce.

Employer: Energy Solutions, Tony LaMance, HR Manager and Sharon Templeton, Community Relations
Educator: Principal Clifford Davis
Parent: Pamela Treacy
Students: One High school student & one Middle school student
Young professional: Tierney Bates

9:40 – 10:30AM Breakouts:

Communications Campaign
We will continue the creation of a grass-roots communications campaign to help the community understand the value of education and how all stakeholders should “expect more” from each other.

Effective Teaching/Relevance Taskforce
We will form an action plan addressing the ways we can make material that students are learning in the Pre-K through 12th grade more relevant to what they will need to succeed in the real-world.

Attracting & Retaining a Quality Workforce Taskforce
This taskforce will develop an action plan to attract and retain young talent to our region, particularly college graduates and young professionals.

Bridging the Gap Between Higher Ed & Business Taskforce
This group will identify opportunities and create action plans to connect post-secondary educators with business on a continual and sustainable basis so that students exiting post-secondary training are ready to go to work.

Under-Utilized Workforce Taskforce
In order to address these sectors of the workforce, we will focus on a systematic approach to Skill Up! in Innovation Valley, we will present an initiative to implement skill-based training and Tennessee Career Readiness Certificates in the region.