Helping Hands Dental Apprenticeship Programs Offered in Hardeman County
Helping Hands of Middle and West Tennessee in partnership with the Hardeman County Chamber of Commerce brought a Breaking Barriers Workshop to the Bolivar Municipal Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. The event introduced Helping Hands’ pilot dental pre-apprentice and apprentice programs, which were created to give people an opportunity to learn a marketable skill and gain financial independence as they start a career in an industry, which has a high employment demand.
“Helping Hands is a non-profit industry, which dedicates itself to building stronger communities through a two-step approach. One is through its workforce training programs such as our dental pre-apprenticeship program and dental apprenticeship program,” said Rachel Lee of Helping Hands of Middle and West Tennessee. “Also, we offer one-on-one financial counseling and financial training through a collaboration with the United Way of Tennessee.”
Helping Hands of Middle and West Tennessee is offering dental programs in Hardeman, Haywood, and Madison Counties. Although the program is open to anyone willing to travel to attend the programs in the offered counties, the target demographic are students, who come from marginalized populations, are ex-convicts, veterans, or low-income individuals just needing that “helping hand” to learn a new skill and to get started in a new career.
“Students must first graduate from the pre-apprenticeship program, which is 12 months. After that, they have the option to continue and pursue the apprenticeship level, which is an eight-month program. We collaborate with TCAT-Covington and students will walk away with TCAT certification and college credit,” said Ms. Lee, who noted students will train to create traditional dental impression molds as well as ones using 3-D printing technology. “The programs offer flexibility and allows you to balance work life and family life, and a part-time job. For Hardeman, classes will be Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays in Bolivar. We have a morning session from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and an afternoon session from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., so it makes it possible for a lot of people to fit it in their schedule.”
Ms. Lee shared other benefits of the program:
- Great option for a hands-on person
- Pre-apprenticeship program is open to students 16 years+
- Convenience of learning locally
- Recession-proof career
Another attractive benefit is students receive a $400 monthly stipend to encourage their continued attendance in the program.
“There are a lot of cross training programs focusing on medical or IT. In this region of Tennessee, nobody is offering a dental program [in these counties]. There is a huge demand for dental technicians, dental hygienists, and dental assistants. This is a gap that needs to be filled. There is a huge demand in the workforce, but an insufficient number of people are trained with these skill sets,” said Ms. Lee, who noted there is already a long waiting list of applicants.
Although there is a waiting list, Ms. Lee encourages interested people to still apply. A needs assessment will be completed for all applicants to ensure they are qualified candidates to participate in the dental program.
“At helping hands, we want to be a beacon of hope to the community and to give people a second chance,” said Ms. Lee.
Call Ms. Rachel Lee at (731) 736-4005 or e-mail info@helpinghandstn.com for more information about the programs.
Helping Hands of Middle and West Tennessee also collaborate alongside Jackson State Community College and Southwest Tennessee Adult Education on program offerings.
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