Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said today in Chattanooga that the Tennessee Promise scholarship program is critical to the state's manufacturers, and he's upbeat the 43,000 high school seniors who've signed up is double his original estimate.
"If you talk to manufacturers, they love everything about Tennessee, but they're concerned about the depth of talent that's here longterm," said Haslam, who was awarded the Tennessee Association of Manufacturers' C.D. Mitchell Award, the group's top recognition.
Concerning the state's jobless rate of 7.3 percent, higher than the 5.9 percent national average, Haslam it reflects weaknesses in some of Tennessee's rural areas
"We're going to keep focusing on that," he said, adding that the rate has come down overall.
The Tennessee Republican said 1o percent of all jobs in the state are manufacturing, and they support more than that number.
"Manufacturing is a big part of what we do in Tennessee, and we'd like it to be an even bigger part," he said.
See more in Tuesday's Times Free Press.