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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has announced recipients of the Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) grant program, which prioritizes learning opportunities in rural counties and enhances career and technical education statewide. Tennessee has made notable progress in rural workforce development which has resulted in securing over 41,500 new jobs and nearly $19 billion in capital investment in rural counties since 2019. This third round of GIVE grants will allocate $41 million to foster regional partnerships between Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs), community colleges and local industries.

“The state with the workers will win every time, and that’s why workforce development has been one of my top priorities since day one,” said Gov. Lee. “As a result, companies are choosing to invest and expand in our state, creating greater opportunity and quality of life for all Tennesseans.”

Since creating GIVE, Gov. Lee’s first legislative priority, he has invested $91.5 million into the program to support rural workforce development through technical education. The first and second rounds of GIVE funding in 2019 and 2021 served an estimated 15,500 students.

The third round of GIVE grants will fund 23 projects statewide. The 23 funded projects will impact 47 counties, including six economically distressed and 13 at-risk counties.

Among recipients of the GIVE grants were Northeast Tennessee Community College, which received a grant in the amount of $1,920,985, and Walters State Community College, which received a grant for $1,999,794.96 and a second grant for $1,999,882.38. The first grant was for the college’s STEM program and the second for Creating Tech Pathways for Success. 

The Northeast State grant is designed to build economies through Skilled Trades.