Powering Chattanooga’s High-Tech Workforce with AI

Courtesy of Nina Brock

In the digital age, Greater Chattanooga’s continued growth and competitiveness rely heavily on cultivating a high-tech workforce throughout the region. As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into every aspect of daily life, it is essential to have a skilled workforce that can harness this tool.

Community leaders are diligently working to keep a pipeline of talent flowing to the region’s innovative industries.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), for example, is pioneering advancements in AI. Its academic programs integrate AI across various disciplines, from computer science, engineering and cybersecurity to business analytics, health care informatics, and even psychology and criminology.

“The extent to which generative AI and machine learning will impact our lives and work is still unfolding, but we can expect multifaceted effects in the workplace, including the potential to reshape traditional roles, create new job opportunities and transform productivity,” says Vicki Farnsworth, vice chancellor and chief information officer at UTC.

Preparing the Workforce for the AI Revolution

Farnsworth oversees the university’s efforts to apply generative AI in research, instruction and business operations. She says the university is incentivizing innovative ideas around the use of AI through a competitive funding process for faculty and staff project proposals.

“Workforce preparedness has been critical to bringing world-class innovation and industry to Chattanooga, and we’re all living through this AI transformation and learning more as we go about its impact on the workplace and how we do our jobs,” Farnsworth says. “Ensuring a workforce that is adaptable and prepared to engage with innovation made possible by AI is key to sustaining the momentum established by Chattanooga’s entrepreneurial spirit.”

Angela Foster/UTC

Chattanooga’s Got Talent

AlloHire, a boutique recruiting agency founded by Hudson Brock, partners with innovative companies to help them make impactful hires.

“Like it or not, tech is in the driver’s seat of the U.S. economy and is speeding towards AI, cybersecurity and the cloud,” Hudson says.

“To stay along for the ride, it’s critical that we increase our talent density across these high-tech domains by attracting, connecting and retaining top technologists. We don’t have to become ‘Silicon X’ or ‘Austin 2.0’ — just a more tech-enabled Chattanooga.”

The Human Touch in a Tech-Driven World

AlloHire builds its talent base by leveraging The Arena, its coworking space in downtown Chattanooga, and hosting professional development and networking events. The agency also produces In The Arena, a podcast featuring local community leaders.

“We leverage relational networks and modern technologies to keep a pulse on local companies, candidates and job opportunities, connecting them when timing and priorities are aligned,” Hudson says. “While I’m optimistic that AI can improve talent acquisition, I’m convinced that the best recruiting is referral-driven through human-to-human, unscripted conversations over a call, text or, ideally, an in-real-life coffee.”