Robertson County Students: Ready to Excel
Robertson County Schools and business partners work to keep region’s growing manufacturing sector stocked with talent.
A well-trained workforce is essential to the growth of Robertson County’s major industries, particularly advanced manufacturing. With many major companies expanding, such as Martinrea International and Electrolux Home Products, the need to maintain a steady flow of talent becomes even more critical.
Through innovative career and technical education (CTE) programs, Robertson County Schools partners with higher education institutions and local companies to help students chart career paths in manufacturing at an early age.
“The Career and Technical Education Department is heavily involved in workforce development. We have programs in 15 of the 16 nationally recognized career clusters,” says Mark Gregory, supervisor of Career and Technical Education for Robertson County Schools.
“Our CTE programs – which range from automotive and culinary arts to engineering and health sciences – are aligned to local workforce needs every two years as a result of a survey of local labor data, and our programs offer industry certifications for a wide variety of programs of study at no charge to students.”
Robertson County Students Are Future Focused
While the school district’s CTE programs have helped meet many of the region’s workforce needs, a notable deficiency was in the growing manufacturing sector.
The district worked with Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Nashville and Robertson County Economic Development to apply for the state’s GIVE (Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education) 2.0 grant to bring advanced manufacturing and computer IT programs to Robertson County.
“For a long time, Robertson County, and Springfield in particular, did not have any CTE programs in advanced manufacturing and in information technology either because the high schools were having trouble with acquiring instructors or they were having trouble acquiring the equipment,” says Margot Fosnes, former chief economic development officer for Robertson County Economic Development.
“We reached out to TCAT Nashville, which operates satellite campuses in Portland and Springfield, to talk about how to get an advanced manufacturing program going there.”
An Early Start to Excellence
Robertson County Schools and the Robertson County Chamber partner together on programs such as an Eighth Grade Career Exploration Fair, a High School Senior Job Fair and the Carol Sletto Job Shadowing Experience.
Fosnes says the need was amplified by the growth of major employers, including the Bath Fitter manufacturing plant, Airtech International and Electrolux, which has recently invested $300 million to expand its plant in Springfield and automate its production line.
“They’ve invested in training facilities within the plant to retrain their existing employees and train their new hires,” Fosnes says. “Those jobs run the gamut, from the production line to engineering. This lets our students know that there are white-collar jobs available in our industries as well.”
In 2022, to help spread the word, Electrolux was the headlining sponsor of Creators Wanted, a nationwide tour that made a stop at White House Heritage High School.
Spearheaded by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and its workforce development and education partners, the campaign informs emerging talent about the perks and possibilities of embarking on a career pathway in manufacturing.
Schools Enjoy Powerful Partnerships
With the help of the GIVE grant, Robertson County Schools now offers dual enrollment classes through TCAT Nashville.
Beginning fall 2023, the school district’s juniors and seniors can take advanced manufacturing courses at either the TCAT Portland satellite campus or the Career Technical Center located at Springfield High School.
TCAT Nashville will open a renovated campus in Springfield in 2023 that will provide advanced manufacturing and computer information technology programs, Gregory says.
The Innovative Schools Grant will be used to purchase shuttle buses to reduce the transportation barrier for students to access those programs. Gregory says partnerships, such as those with TCAT and Robertson County Economic Development, are vital to the district’s ability to keep talent flowing to the region’s in-demand industries.
The district’s CTE department is on the Education and Workforce Committee at the Robertson County Chamber of Commerce. The committee includes representatives from K-12 education, postsecondary education institutions, local industry and business, and the Chamber and Economic Development Board.
“This group is becoming a powerful tool in developing our pathways to employment opportunities,” Gregory says.
Robertson County Schools and the Robertson County Chamber also partner on programs such as an Eighth Grade Career Exploration Fair, a High School Senior Job Fair and the Carol Sletto Job Shadowing Experience.
“The Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Board have been essential partners in making these events happen,” Gregory says. “They help with sorting groups and finding industry partners to participate.”
Get to Know Robertson County
Want to learn more about living and working in Robertson County? Check out the latest edition of Livability’s Experience Robertson County, Tennessee.
