Chattanooga Climbs Chamber Economic Development Strategy Moves Us Forward

Amanda Ellis

With support from dynamic organizations from across our region, the Chattanooga Chamber has attracted companies from around the globe and helped create programs to boost talent development in our region – programs like Future Ready Institutes and working with Gestamp, Chattanooga State and Hamilton County Schools to create a work-based learning program for at-risk students to work part-time at Gestamp while earning high school diplomas.

Chattanooga Climbs, our new economic development strategy, provides a five-year action plan to guide us as we climb higher while staying grounded. ‘Staying grounded’ recognizes both our unique identity as a community – our very heart and soul – and celebrates the foundation of hard work that propelled us to where we are today.

Chattanooga Climbs refers to both our new economic and talent development strategy and our resource campaign to fund our community’s ambitious, bold goals focusing on:

• Entrepreneur wayfinding and attraction
• Site identification and analysis
• Marketing and business development tools for targets
• Expanded talent development initiatives
• Talent attraction and expanded retention programs
• Support for the INCubator in the Hamilton County Business Development Center

More than 900 area residents, through surveys and in-person meetings, shared their time, talent and thoughts to inform these goals for the future we want to create together. We forged the Chattanooga Climbs strategy based on in-depth research along with the voices of our stakeholders.

In a highly competitive environment, Chattanooga Climbs helps us continue moving Chattanooga and Hamilton County forward in terms of jobs and talent resourcing, a top goal of the Velocity2040 vision.

Find more information about supporting Chattanooga Climbs here.