One of the major obstacles in meeting the long-term training needs of businesses is lack of capacity within the training and education system and lack of funding to implement new programs. The cornerstone of a service strategy moving forward is to open a satellite career and training center for the region, recruit partners and facilitate the creation of a sustainable model.
Northwest Tennessee will pursue an innovation strategy that utilizes the region's natural resources, synergies with higher education and its proximity to larger markets.
The following strategies are recommended:
This is one strategic area where approaches focused on county-level involvement are critical to ensuring success. One of the performance measures used to evaluate local chamber executives is their ability to engage existing industry and retain and grow jobs within their individual communities.
The following strategies are recommended:
Northwest Tennessee has 100 existing properties with buildings suitable for manufacturing and warehousing. There are 35 greenfield sites within the region, and other sites exist that are capable of being improved to match product needs. There are 16 Certified Deal Ready Sites sized from 20 to 550 acres.
There are nine 9 speculative buildings in the region ranging from 20,000 to 100,000 square feet each. There are industrial recruitment prospects active and in-play at many of these sites. The proximity of the megasite in Haywood County is a strategic advantage for clustered manufacturing opportunities as the site is developed.