In-Demand Occupations and Aligned Academic Program Highlights The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) has established a threshold to identify where there is demand for trained individuals but few or no aligned training programs. This section identifies academic programs where Tennessee employment rates are 60 percent or higher1 and confer wages exceeding the state median wage of $39,929 in 2022. These indicators signal greater labor force needs. Each cluster has the total number of in-demand occupations and the total number of aligned academic programs, which includes postsecondary programs at each degree level, high school CTE programs, and apprenticeships.
Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources 14 In-Demand Occupations | 33 Aligned Academic Programs Veterinarians are in demand in two regions in Tennessee. In 2021-22, 84 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degrees were granted with estimated first-year wages of $97,618, outpacing other graduates in this cluster. Nearly half of DVM graduates (45 percent) are working in the state, a larger share than in the previous year. Occupations in-demand in more than four regions in the state include supervisors of landscaping workers, landscaping workers, and veterinary technologists/technicians. Supply: The Environmental and Natural Resources Policy master’s degree program had the second highest salaries in this cluster. Several programs had high employment rates, including bachelor’s degree programs in environment and natural resources management and policy (85 percent), veterinary sciences (66 percent), and environmental studies (74 percent). Veterinary technology/technician programs at the associate degree (80 percent) and one-to two- year certificate (75 percent) level also had high rates of employment. High school CTE programs in agribusiness, food technology and processing and horticulture
1 Employment data comes from Tennessee’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) records which do not capture
individuals who are not covered in UI data or who work out of state.
RDA SW 38 | 4
