Walters State, Morristown Utilities Announce Apprenticeship
July 10, 2023
Walters State, Morristown Utilities Announce Apprenticeship Program
Morristown Utility Commission and Walters State Community College have partnered to
establish an apprenticeship program for the utility system’s drivers.
Certain positions require a commercial driver’s license (CDL). In 2022, new legislation
in Tennessee required anyone seeking a CDL to complete entry-level commercial driver’s
training. Recent legislation has made getting a CDL more difficult. Walters State
worked with MU to develop this training, which requires on-the-job mentoring.
“This program benefits not only Morristown Utilities, but other utilities throughout
the state by streamlining the process for CDL training,” Clark Rucker, assistant general
manager and chief financial officer at MUS, said. “Working with Walters State is always
a pleasure.”
One person is already enrolled in the program. Markus Barnard of Morristown is a pipefitter
who will have responsibilities for driving utility vehicles.
“Our community partnership with WSCC is a crucial aspect of readiness for our workforce,”
Timia Coffman, human resources director at MU, said. “Through this partnership, we
were provided access to additional resources and training. We also saw new ways of
providing training that reached all of our shared goals. These small steps demonstrate
the value of working together in this partnership in the future.”
Walters State currently offers apprenticeships in 10 occupations.
“Apprentice programs allow us to meet the individuals needs of industries in our service
area,” said Dr. Mark Hurst, vice president for business and finance at the college.
“This is one program that we anticipate many businesses will utilize in the future.”
For companies interested in starting an apprenticeship program, the process with an
idea and a meeting.
“We first meet with employers to see what the needs are. We look how we might be able
to meet those needs within the apprenticeship framework provided by the Department
of Labor and Workforce Development guidelines,” Dr. Anita Ricker, assistant dean of
workforce training, said. Sixty apprentices are enrolled in apprenticeship programs
developed by Walters State.
For more information on beginning an apprenticeship program, contact Ricker at Anita.Ricker@ws.edu.
In the photo: Morristown Utilities and Walters State have announced an apprenticeship program to train MU employees for the commercial driver’s license. From left are Dr. Kim Bolton, dean of workforce training at Walters State; Timia Coffman, human resources director at MU; Clark Rucker, assistant general manager and CFO at MU; Markus Barnard, MU pipefitter and apprentice; Stan Greene, marketing and public relations manager for MU; Dr. Anita Ricker, assistant dean for workforce training at Walters State; and Dr. Mark Hurst, vice president for business and finance at the college.