Nokian Tyres Creates Workforce Pathways with Scholarship, Education Programs

DAYTON, Tenn. – Nokian Tyres announced today the winners of its 2026 scholarship, Rhea County High School graduates Jesus Hernandez-Santiago and Josiah Shibley. The students earned the scholarship by demonstrating academic aptitude, interest in STEM fields and a passion for surpassing expectations in their extracurricular pursuits.

The college scholarship program, now in its seventh year, is part of the company’s initiative to prepare promising professionals to join the Southeast Tennessee workforce. These efforts also include a thriving apprenticeship program, work-based learning initiative and summer internship partnership.  

“We are passionate about fueling the employment pipeline in Rhea County and beyond,” said Nokian Tyres North America Human Resources Director Blake Markham, who serves as chairman of the Southeast Tennessee Workforce Development Board. “Our region benefits from strong partnerships between businesses, educational institutions and local governments that strengthen companies and change lives.”

Hernandez-Santiago will attend The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. An avid STEM student, he has excelled in college math classes since his junior year thanks to Chattanooga State Community College’s dual enrollment program.

“I feel so blessed to receive this scholarship because I have always loved the STEM field,” he said. “Nokian Tyres has always been involved with the community, so I will do what I can to succeed and impact the community with the opportunity I have been given."

Shibley will enroll at Tennessee Tech, where he will study civil engineering with a concentration in environmental engineering. He is pursuing a career that allows him to blend his love of the outdoors with his passion for building.

“I’ve lived in Dayton my whole life, and this opportunity has shown me what it looks like when a company invests in its community,” said Shibley. “This scholarship will help me worry less about money and focus more on school, and it means a lot that it’s coming from a company in my hometown.”

Nokian Tyres is also fostering future leadership through an apprenticeship partnership with educational institutions in Southeast Tennessee. Through a partnership with Cleveland State Community College, six apprentices are enrolled in a multi‑year program designed to prepare them for long‑term careers in tire manufacturing through a combination of 8,000 hours of on‑the‑job training and 42 classroom credit hours.

“Seeing the things in the classroom that I’ve already worked on has helped a lot,” said Maintenance Apprentice Emily Goodwin. “It feels like a once‑in‑a‑lifetime opportunity. This has changed my life.”

The company’s work-based learning partnership with Rhea County High School provides students with meaningful hands-on experience at a high-tech factory. Between two and four RCHS students participate in the initiative every year.

Nokian Tyres is also teaming up with Bryan College for an internship program that provides experience, mentorship and special projects designed to equip future graduates with the skills they need to contribute and the company and to the workforce.

Nokian Tyres opened the Dayton Factory in 2019 to serve the American and Canadian tire markets. Every tire produced in Dayton is sold in North America. The tiremaker has won awards for the factory’s culture and processes. The factory was the first tire production building in the world to earn LEED v4 Silver certification.