Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, left, speaks to Senator Bo Watson, Caroline White (blonde), Kathryn Hart (red), and others during the Tennessee Association of Manufacturers' annual meetTennessee Gov. Bill Haslam spent Monday in Chattanooga promoting Tennessee Promise and speaking at Young Life Chattanooga's annual banquet.
In the afternoon, the Tennessee Republican told the Tennessee Association of Manufacturers that there's quite a bit of empty space in the state's community colleges since attendance has dropped as the economy improved.
He said the state's community colleges are prepared to handle the much higher-than-expected number of Tennessee Promise applicants, but there may be challenges at the program level.
"If we're having a lot of people sign up for welding classes, we need to make sure that's what we're increasing our capacity for -- or nursing classes or whatever it is," he said in Chattanooga.
But, he said, the state needs to ensure there's space to meet demand in particular academic or technical programs.
About two-thirds of Tennessee's graduating seniors have applied for Tennessee Promise, which guarantees to cover the cost of a two-year college degree. Saturday is the application deadline.
Haslam said the 43,000 high school seniors who've signed up for the scholarship program is more than double the original estimate of 20,000 students.
The governor said the scholarship program is critical to the state's manufacturers.
"If you talk to manufacturers, they love everything about Tennessee, but they're concerned about the depth of talent that's here long term," said Haslam, who was awarded the group's C.D. Mitchell Award, its top recognition.
He said that in a decade, 55 percent of all jobs will require a two- or four-year degree or technical certificate. Now, only about a third of Tennessee adults have the needed education.
"That's why we rolled out Tennessee Promise," Haslam said. "It really can be a game-changer for our state."
He said 10 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.
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam speaks during the Tennessee Association of Manufacturers' annual meeting on October 27, 2014. Governor Haslam also the C.D. Mitchell Award.Paul Loftin of Siskin Steel, TAM's chairman, told the governor that one of the association's main objectives is education.
"It has not always been that way," he said. "We have realized that in order for us to continue to grow, this is an area we must, have to, and are investing in."
Concerning the state's jobless rate of 7.3 percent, higher than the 5.9 percent national average, Haslam said 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.
In the evening, Haslam spoke to more than 5oo people in attendance at the Chattanooga Convention Center for the annual Young Life fundraising banquet.
Young Life is a international ministry, and locally works with more than 5,000 teens in public and private schools.
As Haslam walked on stage to a loud applause, he promised the crowd he was not making a political speech. Instead of talking politics, he began to share his story of involvement in the ministry, which began 40-years-ago this week.
He became involved with the ministry as a high school student, and volunteered with them in college with his wife, Christine. After getting married and moving to Knoxville, the Haslam's served on the Young Life Committee, and Haslam currently serves on the Young Life national board of directors.
"I have seen Young Life full circle," Haslam said.
He told the crowd about his conversion to Christianity through Young Life and played a fundamental role in all three of his children's lives.
"The government is better at fixing potholes than hearts," Haslam said. "The impact of Young Life in changing hearts in Chattanooga and around the world is immeasurable."
Contact staff writer Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6318.
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6592.