MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tennessee Governor Bill Lee made a trip to Memphis Wednesday to visit UpSmith, Inc., a startup out of Dallas, Texas, which is helping Mid-Southerners prepare for the workforce.
UpSmith is a new paid eight-week internship program intended to offset the skilled labor shortage in Memphis.
The program was announced Wednesday at the former Coke bottling plant on Hollywood Street, which will be the training grounds for the interns' classes. The partnership is between the city of Memphis, Forgenow, Pyramid Electric, and Associated Builders And Contractors Of West Tennessee.
Beginning this week, 18 students are already enrolled and getting prepared to transition into electrician careers once they finish the program. Upsmith said upon completion of the program on July 29, graduates will earn $20+/hour and $40K+/annually working full-time with a local ABC-member construction firm.
Governor Lee said the state is investing $200 million in programs like this one.
To learn more and apply for the Memphis Program, go to https://upsmith.com/.