Reporting: Rabbit Zielke
Wacker Polysilicon of North America broke ground on their new facility in Charleston Tennessee in April 2011. This chemical plant will be open in 2013 and will be producing hyperpure silicon for use in the photovoltaic industry such as solar cells for power production. The chemical production process at Wacker Polysilicon requires trained specialists in the chemical industry. Wacker has teamed with Chattanooga State Community College to help prepare the workforce for the plant opening.
Wacker Institute at Chattanooga State Community College offers Associate degree programs designed to prepare chemical operators for the positions that will be available in 2013. Part of the recruitment efforts include job interviews for the students enrolled in these programs in the first semester of classes. Successful candidates may end up with a job offer well before the plant is even complete.
Other positions at Wacker Polysilicon in the engineering field have already been filled with employees completing an intensive training program at Wacker Institute followed by 6 months of hands on training in the Wacker Polysilicon sister plant in Germany. Human Resources at Wacker updates their career listing daily to reflect current available positions. The facility that will open in Charleston Tennessee is the first Wacker Polysilicon plan outside of Germany and represents an investment of $1.5 billion.
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