Ruth and Steve Workforce is a 16.5 Million Dollar Investment

BLOUNT COUNTY, TENNESSEE – The Ruth and Steve Workforce is a new extension of Pellissippi College.  Blount County’s endeavor is not only cooking up new recipes; it’s also cooking up new career opportunities for workforce enrollees!

Following, Pellissippi Community College cut the ribbon recently for the Ruth and Steve West Workforce Development Center.

The former Major of Maryville advocates for the workforce. He said, “A good attitude and willingness to learn, while important, are not enough in today’s economy. We need more specialized training to fill these jobs.”

The 16.5-million-dollar workforce center’s first educational blueprints include hands on developing in a selection of different programs for new students.

Continuing, some of these programs include electrical engineering, culinary arts, business management, and welding.

According to Blount Partnership,

“The 51,000-square-foot workforce development center was designed to help fill the area’s need for highly skilled, college-educated employees. Blount County has experienced $2.1 billion in new capital investment and announced 4,570 new jobs since 2015.

Also, the workforce development center will allow Pellissippi State to increase its dual enrollment opportunities with Alcoa, Maryville and Blount County high schools, helping fill the local pipeline with educated and experienced employees.”

Mentioning, the (Campaign Leader) Arconic Foundation established the development center in 2022.

Blount County Funding

The Workforce has received support from the Blount County Community this far.

Following, the Blount County Memorial Hospital donated 100,000 dollars to the workforce cause.

After, many more champions of Blount County pitched in their support. Those champions include the Blackberry Farm Foundation, DENSO, Clayton Foundations, and Aubrey Restaurants.

The Blount County Economic Board approved of this funding in the summer. They connected with the City of Maryville and the City of Alcoa to make the transitional funding as easy as possible.

Following, the Blount County partners are the backbone of the workforce center. The advocacy for workforce representation has made the trade programs a reality for students.

Continuing, the Work Force Development Center will ensure powerful foundations for students entering long-term careers without having to relocate.