The First Tennessee Development District (FTDD) will assume the programmatic and operational responsibilities of the Alliance for Business & Training (AB&T) effective July 1, 2022.
This operational change will ensure that American Job Centers in each of the region’s eight counties remain open. It will also provide greater efficiency in the delivery of vital workforce programs across the region. These include on-the-job training programs, incumbent worker training programs, and customized training for area employers. AB&T also served as the staff of the Northeast Tennessee Local Workforce Development Board. Both fiscal agency and board staff functions will now become the work of the FTDD.
“The District is excited to take on this role for the region,” said Mike Harrison, FTDD Executive Director, “the programs managed by AB&T are vital, and bringing this under the umbrella of the FTDD ensures they’ll continue, and impact may be magnified by our organization’s reach.” Mayor Richard Venable of Sullivan County, and the chief elected official responsible for regional workforce programs went on to add that, “as a board member, there is no doubt in my mind that the functions carried out by AB&T should come to the FTDD, organizationally there is no entity better suited to take that work, and carry it forward.”
The FTDD will begin to staff and manage operations on July 1, and all inquiries and requests for service should be directed to info@ftdd.org after that date.
For questions about this press release, or any FTDD program or project, please contact Mark Stevans, mstevans@ftdd.org.