What’s happening: The Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce has announced plans to open an accelerated training center in order to meet workforce development needs in the region. The $15 million skills training center will open in North Memphis in 2024.
What it is: Tentatively called the Prosper Memphis Accelerated Training Center, the Chamber’s latest effort to better prepare Memphians for careers in high-demand jobs will offer adults industry-approved skills certifications at a rapid pace. Certifications can be obtained in anywhere from 4- to 22-weeks. Training and certifications will be offered for high-demand jobs in the construction, logistics, manufacturing, and technology industries.
Where it’s going: The Prosper Memphis Accelerated Training Center will be built in the Gateway Shopping Center at 3230 Jackson Ave. in Memphis. What’s planned is a $15 million, 104,000 sq. ft. accelerated training center that will accommodate 600 adults in its first two years, and then increase to 1,000 adults served each year after that.
But wait, there’s more: In addition to workforce training facilities, the center will include an American Job Center, Goodwill Excel Center, drop-in daycare services, shower and laundry facilities, and more.
[Related: Read “Memphis Chamber launches expanded workforce development program, pairing teachers and companies” on High Ground News.]
How they’re doing it: The Chamber’s Chairman’s Circle, their highest level of investors, has already raised $2 million to build the center, and Belz Enterprises has donated the space at Gateway Shopping Center for its development. The training center is also supported by the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Good Jobs Grant, which is administered by the University of Memphis.
Why it’s important: “For years, we’ve known that the key to upskilling our region’s workforce is getting all our resources under one roof,” says Greater Memphis Chamber president and CEO Ted Townsend. “I’m excited to announce that we now have a home for this center, which will let anyone in our community walk through our doors and receive the training and wraparound services they need to transform their lives. This center will let Memphians qualify for high-quality jobs in weeks instead of years.”
Visit the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce online to learn more about this and other workforce development opportunities in Memphis.
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