Chattanooga State Community College partners with Komatsu America on apprenticeship program

The Chattanooga area has its first state certified pre-apprenticeship program thanks to the partnership between Chattanooga State Community College and Komatsu America Corporation. Komatsu is the second-biggest manufacturer and supplier of construction equipment in North America.

The first class contains five high school seniors from Hamilton, Marion, and Sequatchie counties who had previously taken part in a signing day at Komatsu before the program began. Those students are Dakota VanHooser, Colby Sharpe, and Shawn Jones of Whitwell High School, Cj Camp from Sequatchie County High School, and Austin Angland from Red Bank High School.

These five students are working five days a week, four hours a day, at a rate of $15 an hour.

Apprenticeship manager Pam Gitta spoke with The Chattanoogan about the process of choosing the students, saying, “The application process was competitive. Students must have taken several high school manufacturing classes to qualify for the program and have their OSHA-10 certification.”

The students were also required by Komatsu to submit a resume and participate in an in-person interview. These requirements were set so that all applying students could gain some real-world experience with the job hunting process. The five selected students will work at Komatsu in the mornings and return to school for the remainder of the day.

This program is the result of a year of effort on the part of Komatsu, Chattanooga State Community College, Career and Technical Education teachers and directors at all three of the participating school districts, the State of Tennessee Office of Apprenticeship, and the Southeast Tennessee Development District.

After the students finish their pre-apprenticeship training at Komatsu, they will be allowed to start a full-time apprenticeship at Chattanooga State in either welding or industrial maintenance once they have graduated from high school.

The Chattanoogan also quoted an official who offered a definition of apprenticeships, and their benefits:  "Apprenticeships are jobs that come with substantial training and the development of skills that benefit both the employer and the employee. All registered apprenticeship programs are industry-led programs in highly skilled, high-demand occupations that combine paid full-time work with structured on-the-job learning and supplemental education, resulting in portable, nationally recognized credentials within their industry.”

Anyone with interest or questions about Chattanooga State Community College’s apprenticeship programs can email ewd@chattanoogastate.edu, or call 423-697-3100 for more information.

Chattanooga State Community College offers certificate and degree programs both in person and online in a variety of fields such as nursing and allied health, business, social and behavioral sciences, and more. Students interested in attending can apply for free.