Made in Tennessee College tour: TCAT Jackson
“Our mission is workforce development and student success.”
For 54 years, TCAT Jackson has been training the workforce of West Tennessee as part of a network of vocational school across the volunteer state.
When you step foot on the TCAT Jackson campus, you have plenty of options for your technical education according to TCAT President Jeff Sisk.
“Welding, machine tool, industrial maintenance, things like that. We also have other program in support of industry like information technology, cad, and the truck driving program.”
T-cat programs very in length, from as short as a couple of weeks to as long as two years but each one has the same goal.
To help create and develop a skilled worker.
One of the shortest programs t-cat offers is truck driving.
It is only 36 days long but for those who complete the program, they will walk into a job market that is in plenty of need according to counselor Tina McMurrie.
“we have calls all the time from recruiters because they are begging for people to get into the industry”
Program instructors say there are over thirteen hundred trucking jobs available in the region and only about three hundred and fifty certified truck drivers.
But getting their students ready to drive isn’t the only goal of the program.
Part of the time is spent prepping them for the unique lifestyle that being a truck drive offers.
“What their daily life is going to be like living out of a truck, how to exercise a little bit, do some meal planning. Just how their life is going to change.”
Students who come to TCAT this fall will be seeing some changes to the school
The TCAT campus is currently undergoing some renovations and expansions.
The work is part of the schools efforts to stay on the forefront of technical education
“our programs are constantly evolving to meet local industry needs, our technology is constantly updating.”
TCAT administrators say that between on campus and dual-enrolled students, they expect to have a little over a thousand students enrolled.
