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A new Industry/Education partnership between Nyrstar and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Dickson & Clarksville Campus will generate highly skilled maintenance technicians to meet growing demand in the Clarksville area. TCAT President Arrita Summers was on hand July 6 for the launch of the Electro-Mechanical Apprenticeship at Nyrstar’s Clarksville facility.
Kenton Cox and Dustin Straw, both full-time Nyrstar employees, began training in the Industrial Electrical Maintenance/Mechatronics (IEM/M) program at TCAT Dickson’s Clarksville Campus this summer. While working toward the twenty-month Mechatronics Technician diploma. Cox and Straw are registered apprentices with the U.S. Department of Labor, with TCAT Dickson & Clarksville Campus being the Apprenticeship Sponsor. Once the two apprentices complete the competencies for the IEM/M program and the required on-the-job training, they will become journeymen at Nyrstar.
Robert Winton, President of Nyrstar stated, “The industry and institution partnership created with the commencement of the Nyrstar Clarksville apprenticeship program is further confirmation of Clarksville being an innovator in creating growth opportunities in Middle Tennessee. Nyrstar is proud to be joining TCAT in a program that will generate highly skilled maintenance technicians further enhancing the 40+ year legacy of Nyrstar in Clarksville.”
TCAT President Summers stated, “Having the ability to provide this apprenticeship program adds another option for students to gain their education at TCAT Dickson. While there are many benefits of apprenticeships, two that are foremost for me are that students can immediately begin applying in the workplace what they have learned in the classroom; and, they get paid for learning.”
Partnerships with industry are one of the foundations of the TCAT Mission: providing competency-based training through superior quality, traditional and distance learning instruction methods that qualify completers for employment and job advancement; contributing to the economic and community development of the communities served by training and retraining employed workers; ensuring that programs and services are economical and accessible to all residents of Tennessee; and building relationships of trust with community, business, and industry leaders to supply highly skilled workers in areas of need.