TN-CAPS: Career Awareness and Preparation System

I am with a Chamber of Commerce

Help Your Members Meet Their Workforce Needs

Through the support of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, local chambers across the state have been engaged with this exciting TN-CAPS initiative—bridging the gap between education and industry. 

By taking part, Chambers have improved their value to current and prospective members by increasing viability of businesses in their community and visibility to the needs of the future labor market. As a benefit of participation, Chamber members and other strategic partners will inform TN-CAPS resources that support regional and statewide workforce development at the K-12 grade levels and promote one-on-one connections with their future workforce – today’s students. 

In early 2020, TN-CAPS will offer K-12 educators a free career-in-classroom solution where localized lessons and employer information will be searchable and easily accessible. The classroom-ready academic lessons highlight local, high-demand careers and provide ready-to-use resources for teachers to inspire students to become motivated to pursue career paths available in their communities.

At the heart of the TN-CAPS pilot, local Chambers and businesses across the state are stepping up to identify workforce needs, provide information on desired careers, and offer time, talents, and resources to bring careers into classrooms. Here’s how the process works:

  1. First … the Tennessee Chamber and local Chambers recruit businesses to feature in the TN-CAPS portal and are work to gain support of regional education leadership.
  2. Second … businesses complete surveys, provide information about future career needs, and indicate the ways in which they intend to engage with schools and classrooms. Information from participating businesses is then linked to appropriate classroom lessons in TN-CAPS. 
  3. Third … teachers will be provided free access to the online, customized resources and are able to introduce students to local careers through pre-written lesson plans. Teachers are encouraged to utilize business’ contact information, at their fingertips, to bridge to nearby companies interested in connecting kids to local careers. (Planned launch in Jan. 2020 for the pilot sites.)
  4. Last … students are able to connect, either in person or virtually, with local employers to see careers in action and to realize “what they can be when they grow up!”

The goal is to provide local Chambers, employers and schools the ability to excite students about careers available in their own communities.

We thoroughly appreciate our Chamber, business, and educational partners already participating in our six pilot communities:

  • Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce
  • Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce
  • Collierville Partners in Education
  • Jackson Chamber of Commerce
  • Kingsport Chamber of Commerce
  • Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce

If you represent a Chamber of Commerce that wants to be a part of TN-CAPS, please email info@tncaps.com with your contact information.

If you know of a business that should be included in TN-CAPS, please encourage a representative from the business to complete this TN-CAPS Business Survey.