Today, the Knoxville Chamber released the report detailing the ideas and strategies gathered during the Workforce Development and Education Summit, which was held on March 24th. The Summit was an opportunity for businesspeople, community leaders, elected officials, educators, students, parents, and the faith-based community to come together and discuss the important role that education and workforce development have on the future of our economy and society.

The ideas in the report were gathered during the breakout sessions held at the summit. With this feedback, the Chamber crafted a message of next steps in the report, which was a result of collaboration with many partners, including the Oak Ridge Economic Partnerships, Knox County and Great Schools Partnership. Topics included effective teaching, making learning relevant, developing a communications strategy, business and community engagement, bridging the gap between higher education and business, workforce training, engaging the under-utilized workforce, and attracting and retaining a quality workforce.

"The Summit was a genuine success," says Jennifer Evans, the chamber’s director of workforce development. "We gathered a tremendous amount of input for the attendees. The quality of the ideas was outstanding. Now we will begin the task of implementing these ideas."

Moving forward, the chamber staff will work with educators and others in the community to implement the strategies identified at the Summit.

Community input will be an ongoing process. Citizens may submit additional ideas by email jevans@knoxvillechamber.com.

Here are the reports from the Workforce Summit:
Final Summit Report
Appendix 1: Summit Notes
Appendix 2: What to Do For Schools List