Governor Haslam rolled out his Drive to 55 workforce development initiative today. The goal of Drive to 55 is to bring the percentage of Tennesseans with college degrees or certifications to 55% by the year 2025. Tennessee now lags far behind the national average for higher education attainment, ranking 42nd in working adults with a two-year degree or higher. Reaching our goal will involve increasing the number of two-year and four-year degrees as well as technical certifications in important fields such as welding and mechatronics.
Cheatham County ranks in the top 18% of Tennessee Counties in workforce with a degree.
About Daryl Phillips, CEcD
I am a professional economic developer. I presently work for communities and companies in developing and implementing workforce and economic development solutions as CEO of Phillips Economic Development Solutions (Phi EDS).
Prior to September 2017, I was the economic development professional who served a community team of elected officials, business people, community leaders and dedicated stakeholders for economic development in Cheatham County, Tennessee (pop. 39,880) and its four towns. During my five-year tenure, I served the team as Cheatham County grew over 1,700 jobs, turned around population declines at the start of this decade into healthy population growth, increased tourism expenditures 20.3% and local tax revenue from tourism 25.4%, grew sales tax revenue 36%, focused on developing the local workforce and was recognized by SmartAsset as having the 9th highest Incoming Investment Index of all the 95 counties in Tennessee.
I am a member of International Economic Development Council, Southern Economic Development Council, Tennessee Economic Development Council and International Council of Shopping Centers.
I have earned the designation of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) from International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) certification from National Development Council and hold a Master of Business Administration from Tennessee Technological University.
