The president of Chattanooga 2.0, Dr. Jared Bigham, is leaving to take a position with the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce.
Bradley Jackson, president & CEO of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Tennessee Manufacturing Association, announced the appointment of "one of the state’s premier experts and practitioners in connecting workforce and rural economic development."
He said Dr. Bigham will be senior adviser for Workforce and Rural Initiatives.
He said he "most recently served as executive director of the innovative Chattanooga 2.0 school reform and workforce development movement in Hamilton County."
Mr Jackson said Dr. Bigham will be leading the Chamber’s new initiatives "to create tangible post secondary credentials that have real economic value to strengthen Tennessee’s work force and better serve the needs of local industry."
He said, “With our statewide reach, we’ve spent the past two years listening carefully to local industry,chambers of commerce, and economic development partners. What has become increasingly clear is, if we are going to continue to help our employers succeed and attract the kind of jobs we all want in Tennessee, we must address their critical need for more skilled workers.
“With Governor Lee’s vision and leadership in this area, we think Tennessee can quickly become the national leader in creating and enhancing the technical training that employees want and that local industry must have to compete.
"We intend to be a lead partner and Jared Bigham has the deep experience and hands-on expertise to help us significantly enhance Tennessee’s position in scaling the utilization of technical education.
"The Tennessee Chamber’s new initiatives in this area, and the addition of Dr. Bigham, directly builds upon Governor Lee’s recent Executive Order outlining his increased focus on rural economic development and the need for more technical training."
Dr. Bigham said, “Our goal is to create more market value credentials and specific pathways to better paying jobs,particularly in our rural communities and distressed counties."