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Memphis, Tennessee (Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023) — The Greater Memphis Chamber, which serves as the region’s lead workforce development organization, today announced plans to open a $15 million, 104,000-square-foot accelerated training center in North Memphis in 2024, the first in Tennessee.

The center – tentatively named the Prosper Memphis Accelerated Training Center – will offer adults industry-approved skills certifications within 4-22 weeks, quickly qualifying them for high-demand jobs in logistics, manufacturing, construction, and technology. In addition to training space, plans for the center include an American Job Center, Goodwill Excel Center, and wraparound support organizations and services, including drop-in daycare for program participants, and shower and laundry facilities.

The center is expected to serve 600 people in its first and second year, then 1,000 a year afterward.

Belz Enterprises donated the space for the center, which will be located at 3230 Jackson Ave., Memphis, TN 38122, in the Gateway Shopping Center.

“For years, we’ve known that the key to upskilling our region’s workforce is getting all our resources under one roof,” said Greater Memphis Chamber President & CEO Ted Townsend. “I’m excited to announce that we now have a home for this center, which will let anyone in our community walk through our doors and receive the training and wraparound services they need to transform their lives. This center will let Memphians qualify for high-quality jobs in weeks instead of years.

“Thanks to the generosity of the Belz family and our Chairman’s Circle, we’ve already raised $2 million for this innovative training center and expect to start renovations in early 2024.”

The facility will also receive funds for workforce training from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Good Jobs Grant, which is administered by the University of Memphis.

“In Memphis, our businesses are leading from the front,” said Chairman of the Chamber’s Board of Directors Greg Duckett. “To reduce poverty and create an economy of innovation, our Chamber is committed to equipping our people with the skills they need to win the jobs of the present and future.”

The Chairman’s Circle – the Chamber’s highest level of investors – has made workforce development a priority since its first meeting 10 years ago. In 2022, more than 30 Chairman’s Circle investors journeyed to Valencia College in 2022 to see how communities can do accelerated workforce development, jumpstarting the work to bring accelerated skills training to Memphis and Tennessee.

“This center gives Memphis something we’ve never had before,” said Amity Schuyler, Chief Innovation Officer and Senior Vice President of Workforce Development for the Chamber. “By training people faster for the jobs that are in the highest demand, we will not only expand access to prosperity but give advanced industries another incentive to choose to invest in our region.”

About the Greater Memphis Chamber: One of Memphis’ oldest institutions, the Greater Memphis Chamber is a privately funded nonprofit that serves as the region’s lead economic and workforce development organization and the “Voice of Memphis Business” on local, state, and national issues. The Chamber relentlessly pursues prosperity for all — through economic and workforce development, pro-growth advocacy, and by providing support and resources to its investors, which include many of the region’s largest employers. For more information about the Chamber, visit memphischamber.com and memphismoves.com. Also, follow the Chamber on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, and sign up for its weekly newsletter, the Memphis Fourword.