Southwest Tennessee Community College has invested more than $700,000 in two mobile career exploration labs called the Southwest Express that will help Mid-Southerners at area K-12 schools and community organizations reimagine their future.
The mobile labs are part of the college’s Southwest Workforce Solutions Center (SWSC), which aims to provide affordable, streamlined access to career and technical education by aligning credit and non-credit courses and credentials. The exploratory labs are outfitted with state-of-the-art aviation, forklift, mechatronics and welding operation simulators and virtual reality technology that immerses visitors in the allied health, business, culinary arts and other in-demand careers.
According to Amy Shead, Southwest’s associate vice president of workforce and career & technical education, each mobile lab is staffed with a coordinator and lab technician to facilitate the simulations. “Visitors will engage in hands-on activities and learn what it takes to move into a career and technical field. They can experience different skill sets, identify their aptitude and learn about the classes and credentials Southwest offers to become successful in those careers,” she said.
Southwest debuted the Southwest Express mobile labs at the Southwest Workforce Solutions Center Open House & Career Fair in spring 2023, where the community toured the labs and Fulton Building which houses technologies programs. Shead says the mobile labs are designed to take career and technical education to the streets to help residents learn more about a dream career or discover one they never imagined.
“Our goal is to introduce high school students and adults looking to upskill to the world of possibilities that awaits them in allied health, mechatronics, computer science, and so much more,” Shead said. “We immerse visitors in career paths and industries where jobs are in high demand locally and regionally.”
Southwest President Tracy D. Hall says the college invested in the labs to spark career exploration and generate greater awareness of career and technical career opportunities. “Our goal is to meet residents where they are,” Hall said. “Seeing what it is like to work in a particular career may be just the spark residents need to dream of a brighter future. Simply engaging with a robotics or an aviation simulator can open a world of possibilities to a person, transforming what may have been a far-fetched dream to an achievable goal.”
In addition to area schools, the Southwest Express career exploration labs will visit community programs that provide high-school equivalency and short-term training services and target adults who may want to upskill. “We also will participate in career expos and fairs, community events and visit business and industry sites where employees can explore their dreams of advancing their career or chart a new path,” Shead said.
Schools and organizations may find out more information about the Southwest Express mobile labs at www.southwest.tn.edu/southwest-express/, where they also can request an on-site visit. For more information about the SWSC, email swsc@southwest.tn.edu or call 901-333-4207.
Southwest Tennessee Community College is a comprehensive, multicultural, public, open-access college with seven locations in West Tennessee. Southwest awards associate degrees and certificates in more than 120 programs of study. A Tennessee Board of Regents institution, Southwest is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
