Building a Better Workforce

Skills Training: Instructor Daniel Jean-Baptiste, center, teaches woodworking and other skills to students Brittany Jackson, left, and Jordin Smith, right, as part of the four-week Construction Ready program. Photo credit: Kevin Garrett

If Georgia’s workforce was a highway system for the state’s economic development, it would be covered with orange cones. Constant tweaks to programs and initiatives crop up like new exit ramps on Interstate 285. And familiar roads can take sudden turns: For example, for years, the high school graduation rate in Georgia climbed, hitting a high point in 2019, right before the pandemic, before dropping and picking up again. However, the high school class of 2025 is projected to mark the peak number of high school graduates in the state and nationally, before making a somewhat dramatic drop over the following decade, according to data from the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education. This decline is due to a lower birth rate, not the pandemic.

Georgia’s population is growing faster than expected, mostly in rural areas, but it is aging and not replacing its workforce with younger workers. By 2050, the state expects to add nearly 2.5 million Georgians, with the fastest-growing population segment being those 65 and older. Georgia needs a larger cohort of younger, skilled workers. The industries expecting to feel the pinch are some of Georgia’s most in demand, including construction, healthcare and advanced manufacturing.

For years, Georgia has been known as a “best state for business,” but in May, Gov. Brian Kemp signed four pieces of legislation aimed at bolstering the state’s workforce by aligning specific actions with the priority of easing access to post-secondary education and resources.

“Success for us is when they come back a year or two later and tell us they’re working for [a construction] company, or seeing students come to a hiring fair as part of a hiring team. That’s our litmus test. It’s not enough to graduate them.” – Daniel Jean-Baptiste, program instructor, Construction Ready

Encouraging Education and Easing Access

The first step was signing the Top State for Talent Act (HB 192), which codified GEORGIA MATCH, the state’s direct admissions program introduced in 2023. This successful initiative informs public and private high school students of college eligibility based on their high school HOPE grade point average (basically the GPA of a student’s core courses) and streamlines admissions to Georgia technical colleges and some Georgia colleges.

The College Completion Grant Extension (HB 38) provides funds of up to $2,500 to students with unmet financial need, helping them complete their degree at either the Technical College System of Georgia or the University System of Georgia. The bill lowers the degree completion thresholds from 80% to 70% of the required credits, increasing the pool of eligible students, and extends the program’s sunset date to 2029.

Showcasing Abilities: As part of its annual CareerEXPO in Atlanta, Construction Ready hosts the SkillsUSA state championships, in which students compete to show their expertise in construction-related disciplines, above. Wilmar Gonzalez, above right, chats with a visitor at the 2025 CareerEXPO. He met his employer at the 2020 conference and is now a superintendent at the company. Photo credits: Allen Allnoch

The Rural Veterinary Loan Program Update (HB 172) increases the loan repayment amount for large animal veterinarians practicing in rural Georgia from $80,000 over four years to $90,000 over three years. Finally, the Georgia Foster Care Scholarship Program (SB 85) provides up to $30,000 per year for eligible foster and former foster care youth pursuing postsecondary education after all other federal and state funding has been applied.

In late July, the TCSG and USG signed an agreement allowing technical college graduates of associate degree nursing programs to transfer directly into participating universities to complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Streamlining the transition between the systems provides students with an economical and straightforward pathway to careers in healthcare, one of Georgia’s most in-demand industries.

The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced $6.1 million in apprenticeship funding, the largest in Georgia’s history, for TCSG’s apprenticeship program, which will increase the number of registered apprenticeships statewide. Through a competitive process, employers can apply to receive $2,000 per apprentice to offset the costs of establishing and maintaining a registered apprenticeship program linked to the state’s High Demand Career list.

The purpose of these agreements, legislation and influx of resources is clear: to simultaneously encourage all forms of post-secondary education while easing some of the economic burden.

Constructing a New Reality

In June, the state reached a historic high of 5.4 million people employed. But that doesn’t mean all those employees want to stay in those particular jobs.

Like many other workers, Brittany Jackson was open to change. She was settling in to watch Jeopardy! with her mom one evening when she saw a news story promo for a construction skills program being offered at a local community center. Jackson, who was taking a break from college and was employed, was intrigued by what she heard.

“I was in a space where I didn’t want to keep going from one job to another,” she says. “I wanted to find something that would lead to some sort of progression or growth.”

Likewise, Jordin Smith, a student-athlete at a Christian community college in Snellville, saw an advertisement for the same construction skills program while scrolling through his Instagram feed. He has been interested in construction since he was a young child and has seriously considered the trades since high school.

“I clicked on the opportunity,” Smith says. “I’m thinking, I can’t give up college, for sure, so let me make this my Plan B.”

Making an Impression: A Construction Ready student participates in the hiring fair that comes on day 19 of the 20-day program. Photo credit: Clayton Koffman

A few weeks later, Smith and Jackson were enrolled in the Construction Ready program, held in July at Westside Works, a neighborhood-based workforce collaborative in Atlanta. The four-week construction skills training program educates young workers about career opportunities available while addressing the industry-wide labor shortage. Students must meet criteria that include passing basic math and reading exams and undergoing background checks and drug tests. Once they are accepted into the program, trainees receive a $125 weekly stipend.

Students learn a range of skills, such as safely climbing a ladder, flag work on a construction site and operating power tools. Classroom presentations include instruction in material handling and Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations. There are presentations from industry professionals on skill development and resume building. Construction Ready instructors utilize Tools for Success, a National Center for Construction Education and Research curriculum specifically designed to provide newcomers to the construction industry with insights into the workplace. The Monday through Friday class runs from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and students are expected to arrive on time and be ready to work and learn.

“We’re sticklers about being late,” says Daniel Jean-Baptiste, a program instructor and a graduate of the Construction Ready program. “The students all start with 100 points, but they lose points each time they break one of our rules – coming late, not letting us know that you’re not going to [attend] or be on time, being on your cell phone, sleeping in class, being argumentative, those types of things.”

Construction Ready hosts a hiring fair on Day 19 of the course, bringing together employers, typically general contractors or subcontractors working on projects in the Atlanta area, to review students’ resumes and speak with them. Some hires are made on the spot. Jean-Baptiste says if students aren’t picked up at the hiring event, they are often placed after graduation. The program has a 97% job placement rate.

“The goal is seeing them stick with construction,” Jean-Baptiste says. “Success for us is when they come back a year or two later and tell us they’re working for [a construction] company, or seeing students come to a hiring fair as part of a hiring team. That’s our litmus test. It’s not enough to graduate them.”

The culminating activity of the 20-day class is breaking into groups to build a picnic table. Jean-Baptiste says the activity is more than a final project. It’s an indication.

“If you’re not excited about building this table, construction is not for you,” says Jean-Baptiste. “This should be the greatest thing you’ve ever done. The guys who are like, ‘It’s just a table’ – you need to find something else. You should be excited about this.”

Breaking Down Barriers

Construction Ready is just one example of initiatives across Georgia that have been developed to address workforce shortages and skills gaps in high-demand industries. But despite an unemployment rate of just 3.5%, barriers to employment persist. Some obstacles are created by hiring procedures or practices.

Promoting Untapped Talent: Karen Kirchler, deputy commissioner of Workforce Development at the Technical College System of Georgia, watches as someone has an online meeting using an Employment Virtual Agent kiosk at the Veterans Education Career Transition Resource Center at Chattahoochee Technical College. Photo credit: Daemon Baizan

“Employers might have policies in place that prevent them from hiring populations of individuals who could be very effective in their workforce,” says Karen Kirchler, deputy commissioner of Workforce Development at TCSG. “I think a great example is our population of individuals who are non-English speaking or lack a high school diploma or high school equivalency for whatever reason. There are assumptions about individuals who lack a high school equivalency that are not accurate, and [employers] are missing out on good opportunities because some of those individuals are self-starters who are motivated and trying to improve themselves and need to work while going to school.”

In 2024, WorkSource Georgia partnered with CareerRise, a workforce intermediary, to host the Untapped Workforce Summit, and a later series of five webinars on the topic, designed to assist employers in learning the who, what, where and how of accessing the untapped labor pool – individuals with disabilities, previously incarcerated individuals (also known as second-chance hiring), immigrants or refugees, and veterans.

“It’s part of our job to help employers recognize where that untapped workforce might be,” Kirchler says. “And help [employers] recognize that if you think a little differently about how you’re approaching your hiring processes or what your policies are, you could open yourselves up to having some really good employees and reduce your churn.”

Introducing EVA

Potential employees can be stymied by other roadblocks. Lack of access to affordable childcare and public transportation is a challenge throughout Georgia, especially in rural areas. Searching for and applying for jobs in locations that lack high-speed internet is a daunting task, regardless of where applicants live. However, the TCSG, in partnership with WorkSource Georgia, has developed a solution to address this issue: an Employment Virtual Agent, or EVA.

Strategically located throughout the state, EVA kiosks offer users a two-way screen interaction with a live WorkSource Georgia expert – not a chatbot – who can answer questions, assist with setting up an online profile and offer guidance on uploading documents.

Currently, kiosks are located in Heart of Georgia One-Stop (Evans County), Central Library (Coweta County), Chattahoochee Technical College-VECTR (Cobb County), Rockdale County Career Resource Center (Rockdale County), Columbus Technical College (Muscogee County) and Southern Crescent Technical College (Henry County). They are placed in separate rooms or far from pedestrian traffic to ensure user privacy. Three additional kiosks are expected to be installed by mid-to-late fall.

“The EVA initiative allows the system to leverage its increasingly shrinking federal funding to better serve citizens,” Kirchler says. “It’s easier and less expensive for us to put access points in than to put people in brick-and-mortar locations where there may not be significant foot traffic, but there’s still a need.”

Support for the Last Mile

Robust partnerships have long been the hallmark of workforce development, particularly at TCSG where educators collaborate with industry partners to create program content. However, some industry partners do even more, stepping in to provide substantial financial support to students in unique ways.

In April, the BlackRock Foundation announced a two-year, $1 million grant to the Technical College System of Georgia Foundation that will fund the BlackRock Foundation Empowerment Fund. In addition to expanding existing advanced manufacturing and construction pre-apprenticeship programs, the Empowerment Fund has set aside $730,000 in crucial “last mile” resources to support TCSG students in completing their training programs and degrees. The first half of the BlackRock disbursement, along with a $100,000 gift from KIA Georgia, was distributed to all 22 technical colleges earlier this year.

“Financial barriers come in various forms,” says Cory Thompson, executive director of the TCSG Foundation. “Our students have challenges that traditional [college] students may not face. They have families to support, mortgages and household expenses. Students might not be able to [purchase] the equipment they need to complete their program or [pay] minimal tuition. This Last Mile Fund is designed to remove those barriers, help them stay enrolled and complete their education.”

Creating Connection Points

Finding and connecting with the potential workforce is a top priority for every industry, but two years ago, the Georgia Association of Manufacturers bumped that item to the top of its to-do list.

After in-depth conversations with the membership, Stephanie Scearce, then GAM’s vice president of Workforce Innovation and now manager of workforce development for Georgia Power, summarized the challenges: an aging and retiring workforce, high labor force turnover, and the need to engage directly with future workers in a way that resonates.

Meeting Future Employees: Lloyd Avram, president and CEO of the Georgia Association of Manufacturers, converses with high school students at a September event at the Forsyth Arts Center showcasing technology, innovation and career opportunities, to promote National Manufacturing Day. Photo credit: Daemon Baizan

“We started noodling on this notion of how we could do something innovative and different,” says Lloyd Avram, GAM’s president and CEO. “Then Stephanie did a bit of research to identify some technology solutions that could be helpful to try to attract potential and prospective workers to manufacturing, principally high school students graduating without plans to go on to post-secondary education or not really knowing what they’re going to do next.”

Out of that research came the concept of Manufacturing Georgia, a digital platform that leverages the interaction of social media and gaming to attract students to a site where they can learn more about the manufacturing industry, employers, and specific job and apprenticeship opportunities.

The platform offers three profile types: manufacturers, users and education. Manufacturers are companies that produce goods or products in the state of Georgia. User profiles include students, parents and the general public. Education profiles are high schools and colleges that enroll on the site. Typically, the institutions assign their work-based learning coordinator or administrator to manage their profile.

From Profile to Production Line

Scearce says their hope is that the platform will become a means of two-way communication within the industry. A work-based learning coordinator can visit Manufacturing Georgia and conduct a search within a certain mile radius of the school to identify where work-based learning opportunities are located for students. They can message the manufacturer directly. The same is true for manufacturers seeking high schools that offer work-based learning opportunities.

“It’s always been employer to applicant,” Scearce says. “Now it’s going to be that and person to employer, so it’s about relationship-building and engagement. Users will be able to find manufacturers directly. That’s what we want people to understand. You don’t have to apply to communicate.”

To lower the access barrier for individual and educational users, there is no fee to create a profile. Manufacturers will receive free access in 2025 but will pay a subscription fee starting in 2026. Several GAM member companies – Engineered Floors, Grezenbach, KIA Georgia, Shaw Industries and Toyo Tires – contributed a collective $230,000, joining the GAM Foundation as early funders. At the start of July, the site had enrolled 63 manufacturing profiles and almost 1,500 users, 90% of whom didn’t work in manufacturing.

“What’s cool about that user number goes back to our goal for this platform,” Scearce says. “Facilitating a net increase in our available manufacturing workforce in the next five years, so we can get out of this ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ concept. It’s also to take control of our industry’s narrative. Some people still hold an ‘Industrial Revolution’ view that our jobs are dark and gloomy, but we’re very advanced technologically, with AI-driven automation. Regardless of what your skill or niche is, there’s a place for you in manufacturing.”

The Value of Civics

On June 27, Kaden J., a student representing Bennett’s Mill Middle School in Fayette County, took first place in the 2025 Georgia State Finals of the National Civics Bee, held at The Carter Center in Atlanta. He will now represent the state in the National Championship this fall in Washington, D.C.

State Winner: After taking first place in the Civics Bee Georgia State Finals, Fayette County middle school student Kaden J. holds up a giant check presented to him by, from left, Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce; Allen Fore, Vice President of Public Affairs at Kinder Morgan and one of the bee’s judges; and Michael Carney, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Photo credit: Contributed

The Georgia State Finals were hosted by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Foundation, organized in partnership with The Civics Trust of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. The Civics Bee is designed to encourage students to become more educated in the basics of government, as well as how laws and local government can be used to address community concerns.

After a series of knowledge rounds that winnowed the field of 22 competitors, the final three presented a brief essay on a community concern to a panel of judges. They then answered questions about their issue. Kaden, who spoke about the need for more reliable and accessible public transportation, was proclaimed the winner and presented with a $1,000 prize.

Most employers consider “soft skills,” including time management, communication, work ethic and teamwork, critical to job success. But a 2023 report also found that employers value workers who demonstrate a sense of civic or community engagement, often seeking out potential candidates who contribute in meaningful ways to their communities.

“I think when you have young men and women that care about being involved in their communities, whether that’s at the local or state level, they’re going to be better corporate citizens,” says Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. “They’re going to be better workers. The data is out there. Those men and women who vote tend to stay with their companies.”

Clark says civics education is more than building a better workforce; it creates better citizens.

“When we look at the skill sets that are most in demand today and what will be in demand in the long term, it’s social intelligence, respect for each other, treating people with dignity,” he says. “When you look at what drives a young person’s decision of which companies they want to work for, purpose outweighs money every time. If that company can promote a greater purpose or corporate citizenship, then that young man and woman can say, ‘Oh, there’s a connection there; it’s not about politics.’ It’s about caring about your community, and I think all that lines up.”