Inside Pellissippi 062804

Career Center’s S.T.A.K.E. claims Knoxville’s future

When employers in Knoxville’s construction industry complained that “good help is hard to find,” the Heart of Knoxville Career and Resource Center (HOKCC) recognized a golden opportunity to change lives—by putting hammers, pipe cutters, and mortar trowels in the hands of Knoxville’s un- and underemployed.

The result was their funding of S.T.A.K.E., Skills Training and Kommunity Empowerment, a free pre-apprenticeship program that prepares individuals for a career as a carpenter, plumber or tile setter. The program was designed and is implemented by East Tennessee Mechanical Contractors (ETMC).

“The men and women who participate in the S.T.A.K.E. program come with the hope that their efforts will result in jobs that provide not just a minimum wage but a living wage,” said Dorothy Bennett, special projects coordinator for ETMC. “These are hard-working people who want to be good parents, tax-paying citizens and active, responsible participants in their community.”

Participant Gerrod Blair, 28, said he wanted more out of life than earning minimum wage at a fast food restaurant.

“I realized that I wanted good work and good pay,” said Blair, “and the only way to get that was through school or training.”

Through S.T.A.K.E., Blair has built houses and storage sheds for Habitat for Humanity and has laid tile in a prestigious Knoxville home to be featured in an upcoming issue of Home magazine.

“I’ve learned a lot in this program, and I don’t want to hold myself back or limit my options. This experience has taught me that if you are willing to learn, there is nothing you can’t do.”

Participants in S.T.A.K.E. receive a small stipend for attending classes and get paid for construction projects while they learn. Still, many students work second jobs while in training.

“This training is not something our students do on a whim,” said Bennett. “The program is rigorous and requires a significant time commitment. Plus, our participants know at the outset that they are training for an industry that requires hard work and typically provides few fringe benefits. Nevertheless, they pursue this program with gusto. I am continually in awe of the determination these individuals have to better themselves and make something of their lives.”

S.T.A.K.E. offers a comprehensive introduction to the construction trades. It teaches students everything from how to read a blueprint to how to interview for employment and negotiate contracts. Having completed the program, S.T.A.K.E. participants are equipped to apply for certification or apprenticeships. In addition to having the skills to get a good job, S.T.A.K.E. graduates have the knowledge needed to maintain their own homes and neighborhoods.

Shanida Holland, 26 and mother of three, enrolled in S.T.A.K.E. not knowing how to read a measuring tape, and now she has her first carpentry job, for a local contractor.

“S.T.A.K.E. has excellent teachers,” said Holland. “They have taught me everything from how to hold a hammer to how to draw floorplans, lay roofing, frame walls, install windows and build decks. Now I take my girls for a drive by my projects and say, ‘Look what Mommy has done!’ I absolutely love what I’m doing!”

Apparently, Holland is not the only participant who loves what she’s doing. S.T.A.K.E. has enrolled more than 80 persons, well in excess of its initial goal of 32.

S.T.A.K.E is one of several empowerment and employment programs funded by the HOKCC. Created through a partnership of Pellissippi State, the City of Knoxville, the Partnership for Neighborhood Improvement, and the Tennessee Department of Housing and Urban Development, HOKCC is dedicated to workforce development within Knoxville’s Empowerment Zone (EZ). EZ is a 16-square mile area that includes downtown Knoxville and surrounding neighborhoods, including Mechanicsville, Old North Knoxville, Fourth and Gill, Five Points, Morningside, Vestal, Londsdale, Park Ridge, and Fort Sanders.

“S.T.A.K.E is a shining example of how, by working together, we are building a better workforce for Knoxville businesses, revitalizing our communities and transforming lives in the process,” said Cynthia Manning, director of HOKCC. “Our community’s supply of journeymen has begun to age, and we have a huge void to fill. So there is a critical need for training initiatives like S.T.A.K.E.”

Recently, HOKCC awarded two new contracts for construction trades training programs, the first to the Sheet Metal Workers pre-apprenticeship program and another to a building trades program that will teach EZ residents how to build and rehab houses while learning valuable job skills. Graduates from any of these programs will make valuable additions to any employer’s organization, says Manning.

And there’s another incentive to hiring EZ residents: the EZ wage tax credit. Employers who are located within the Empowerment Zone can save up to $3,000 for each new and existing employee who lives and works in the zone for every year of EZ designation until 2009.

Bennett stresses the importance of employers supporting empowerment programs by offering good-paying jobs to students: “The real success of S.T.A.K.E. and programs like it is when students are placed in good jobs, so employers make the final determination of whether or not we’re successful.”

Located on the Magnolia Avenue Campus, HOKCC is a one-stop career center that offers a vast array of workforce development services—from workshops, GED preparation, career assessment, job referrals, and on-site recruiting events to educational/vocational assistance, job search books and videos, and Internet-connected computers—all of which are free to not only EZ residents but the entire community.

Since its creation in 1999, HOKCC has served more than 4,000 people, invested more than $1 million in training programs, partnered with more than 50 businesses and helped more than 250 people secure jobs with living wages.

HOKCC also offers eligible EZ residents the EZ Training Scholarship/Voucher Program. That program is designed to provide the financial assistance to acquire or enhance skills needed to obtain or enhance employment in “in-demand” occupations such as health care and the construction trades.

HOKCC’s facility is home to an Empowerment Zone Training Program career specialist, Business Services career specialist and representatives from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Workforce Connections, Tennessee Department of Human Services-UT Network, Pellissippi State’s Adult Education program, and the University of Tennessee’s TRIO programs.

“We have tried to gather in one location every conceivable resource for helping job seekers and employers connect, but our greatest challenge is simply making people aware of all we have to offer,” said Manning. “We’ve got to get the word out that help is here at the Heart of Knoxville.”

"Inside Pellissippi" is a bi-monthly electronic publication produced by the Community Relations Office for the faculty and staff of Pellissippi State Technical Community College, 10915 Hardin Valley Road, P.O. Box 22990, Knoxville, Tennessee 37933-0990. All suggestions and comments should be sent to Julia Wood (jwood@pstcc.edu).

For past issues, visit the Inside Pellissippi Archive.