Industrial Readiness Training & Advanced Integrated Industrial Technology Programs
The IRT is a four-week program designed to prepare individuals in local manufacturing and industry. The training teaches and measures foundational technical, academic, and interpersonal knowledge and skills that have been identified by local industry leaders as critical to long-term employee success. In the first two years, the program graduated 695 students. Created initially to help Blues City Brewery train employees, the program has been used by food processors such as Unilever, Riviana Foods and Solae to find and train employees.
The one- and two-year Advanced Integrated Industrial Technology program is designed primarily to train maintenance technicians in the fields of manufacturing, industrial process control, distribution, warehousing, and transportation.
Shelby County Schools, the main school system for Memphis residents, offers four career and technical education centers that allow high school students and adults to enroll in technical courses.
Specialized dual enrollment courses are also available to high school students throughout the district in aviation, welding, diesel technology and engineering. During the 2012-13 school year, more than 48,000 students enrolled in one of these courses. Areas of study included welding, logistics, warehouse distribution, and career management success. As part of the Grater Memphis Alliance for a Competitive Workforce, Shelby County Schools is working to align vocational programs with industrial needs.
The Mid-South Quality Productivity Center provides training and consulting services that include ISO 9000 training, consulting and workshops, Malcolm Baldric National Quality Award Assessments and Self-Assessment training, and cycle-time reduction training through the Center’s Process Activated Training System (PATS).
Gene Haas Medical Device Institute
In November 2016, the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT), the University of Memphis, and the Greater Memphis Alliance for a Competitive Workforce (GMACW) received $12 million in grants for construction of a new medical device hands-on training facility. The institute will aim to train 240 students annually with a goal to graduate 1600 students by 2025.
Concorde Career College–Memphis, established in 1979, has been training health care professionals for more than 35 years. Concorde–Memphis offers 16 programs, including dental assisting, dental hygiene, health information management, massage therapy, medical assisting, and nursing. The Memphis facility is over 68,000 square feet, including 27 classrooms and 12 program-specific labs.
The Tennessee College of Applied Technology serves as a premier supplier of workforce development throughout the State of Tennessee. With two locations in Memphis, TCAT has a regular enrollment of nearly 1,000 students building careers in a wide variety of fields, including automotive technology, barbering, dental laboratory technology, truck driving, welding technology, and many more. TCAT’s Aviation Extension Campus offers training in aircraft mechanics and avionics maintenance technology.
The Swift Driving Academy provides students with all the necessary skills to prepare for the Class-A Commercial Driver’s License exam. For those that qualify, Swift offers financing for student housing, bus transportation to and from the Academy, tuition reimbursement, a scholarship program, and more. Students can earn their CDL from Swift and begin career in truck driving in as little as three weeks.
New Horizons offers online and on-site training in multiple computer programs that are used in workplaces daily, including Microsoft and Adobe technical and application courses, and business courses in Salesforce, cloud technologies, Six Sigma training, and more.
OCTI is a Department of Labor approved training provider that is committed to career training in the Memphis community. OCTI was created due to the overwhelming need for training in logistics, the largest employer in the Memphis economy. OCTI seeks to become a leading training provider for Memphis International Airport – the Memphis Aerotropolis – as it transforms from “America’s Distribution Center” to the aerotropolis that links air, rail, truck and barge as a complete and seamless transportation system for moving people and product around the world.
Remington College-Memphis began in the Mid-South in 1987 as a “Southeast College of Technology”. Programs offered at the Memphis campus include Medical Assisting, Pharmacy Technician, HVAC Technician, Criminal Justice, and more, in addition to online programs. The staff and instructors at Remington seek to provide students with practical, transferable skills that are expected to be in demand by employers in Memphis and Shelby County. Special guests and local business leaders visit students throughout the year to provide insights into the realities, rewards, and possibilities of pursuing a career in their fields of interest and trade.
Vatterott Career College has two campuses in Memphis to provide students with an accessible and affordable education in a variety of auto, medical, trade, and technology training programs. For students interested in pursuing culinary interests, Vatterott also operates the L’Ecole Culinaire campus in Cordova.
Founded in 1909, Moore Tech is one of America’s oldest vocational institutions. Located in the heart of Memphis, Moore Tech offers hands-on learning in small classes. Students learn by working on the latest equipment with individual attention from professional instructors, and boasts job placement rates for graduates of 95-100%. Programs include an Associate Degree of Applied Technology, Plumbing, Maintenance Technology, Welding, Machining Technology, and Industrial Electricity and Plant Maintenance.
Strayer University offers many online programs and also has a location in Southeast Memphis, offering undergraduate and graduate programs in high-demand fields such as accounting, business, education, health services administration, information systems, and public administration. Strayer offers class schedules designed to fit the lives of working adults.
Embry-Riddle is the world’s pre-eminent university for aviation and aerospace education, but also offers a variety of dynamic, hands-on programs to prepare students for careers in many industries, not just ones in the skies. The Memphis campus, located near TPC Southwind, offers associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees, as well as undergraduate certifications.
