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by: Janine Wine
Communications and Marketing Coordinator
Dickson, TN: TCAT Dickson will be expanding its footprint by opening a new instructional service site in Stewart County and adding new program offerings on two of its existing campuses thanks to three Capacity Grants awarded by the Tennessee Board of Regents.
The grants allow for a new location at Stewart County High School where Electrical and Plumbing Construction Technology will be offered to adult students as an evening class but will also fund a new evening Welding Technology program at the main campus in Dickson, and a new Barbering program at the extension campus in Clarksville.
“There is a growing demand for skilled workers, and technical training is the key to meeting that need. I’m excited about the opportunity to offer these new programs in Dover, Dickson, and Clarksville,” TCAT Dickson President Laura Travis said, adding, “The programs will provide life-changing opportunities for students and help strengthen our local workforce.”
Opening a new location in Stewart County marks the first time in the colleges 60-plus year history to have a presence in Stewart County – one of the eight counties in TCAT Dickson’s service area - after months of collaboration between Stewart County Mayor Robert “Boo” Beecham, TCAT Dickson President Laura Travis and her team, Workforce Essentials, Inc. President Marla Rye, and Stewart County Director of Schools Mike Craig.
“Stewart County is extremely excited to have post-secondary education for our citizens in our own backyard. It has been a great joy working with TCAT Dickson over the last year to accomplish this goal. To give our citizens a place at home to receive a degree is truly a blessing to our community,” Beecham said.
The 12-month program is slated to begin January 2026 and will focus on residential electrical and plumbing applications. A second benefit of the new program will mean SCHS students enrolled in construction classes will be able to earn dual enrollment credit toward a TCAT diploma in Electrical and Plumbing Construction Technology while enrolled in their high school program.
“Stewart County Schools is proud to partner with TCAT Dickson in providing the facilities for the new Electrical and Plumbing Construction Technology program. We believe this partnership will provide an opportunity for Stewart County citizens to acquire job skills that lead to good-paying jobs within the county. We look forward to what this program will do to boost the economic future of Stewart County,” Craig said.
Beecham is looking forward to growing the partnership with TCAT Dickson to offer more courses in the career technical field and is proud his county school system stepped up and offered a location to house TCAT Dickson. “I would like to thank the Stewart County School System for providing a venue and for sharing in this vision for Stewart County citizens. We are truly grateful for this excellent opportunity,” Beecham explained.
The addition of the 12-month evening Welding Technology program at the Dickson Campus will fill a much-needed gap for evening opportunities for adult learners in Dickson and surrounding areas but will also help reduce the waitlist for the current daytime welding program. The evening program is set to begin Fall 2025. The college is actively in the process of hiring an evening instructor.
The Barbering program being offered at the Clarksville campus will fill a void left in the Clarksville-Montgomery County community when Queen City College closed its doors earlier this year after nearly 40 years of offering barbering and cosmetology courses. TCAT Dickson’s Clarksville campus currently offers two day-time Cosmetology classes. Barbering will be a new 14-month, or 1,500-hour evening course offered in the same lab space Cosmetology operates in during the day.
Adult students are eligible to apply for financial aid including TN Promise, TN Reconnect, Wilder-Naifeh Technical Skills Grant (Lottery Grant), Federal Pell Grant, Tennessee Student Assistance Award, Federal Supplement Educational Opportunity Grant, and Veteran’s Assistance is available for veterans and their qualifying family members to help cover the cost of tuition. To receive financial assistance, students must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Dual enrollment grants are available to high school students who dual enroll in TCAT Dickson’s programs.
“Financial aid and scholarships make technical programs highly accessible. The majority of our students are able to attend tuition-free, opening the door to high-demand careers without the burden of student debt,” Travis said.
For more information on TCAT Dickson’s 18 programs of study please call 615-441-6220 or visit tcatdickson.edu.
TCAT Dickson is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution, is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education, and complies with non-discrimination laws: Title VI, Title IX, Section 504, and ADA. Located on Highway 46 in Dickson, the technical training college also has extension campuses in Clarksville, and Franklin. Additional information about the school is located at www.TCATDickson.edu
TCAT Dickson students Alex Riley and Clint Thompson work on an electrical trainer wiring a residential switch box. TCAT Dickson is expanding its footprint and opening a new instructional service site at Stewart County High School in January. Electrical and Plumbing Construction Technology will be offered as an evening class for adult learners. Additionally, SCHS students will be able to earn dual enrollment credit toward TCATs Electrical and Plumbing Construction Technology diploma while simultaneously attending daytime construction courses at the high school.