TEAM WORK. TEAM WORK A guide to the State of Georgia s partners in education and workforce development

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1 TEAM WORK TEAM WORK A guide to the State of Georgia s partners in education and workforce development

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3 The foundation of a growing and prosperous economy is a quality workforce individuals with the skills, knowledge and motivation to adapt to the ever-changing requirements of the marketplace. A quality workforce doesn t just develop by itself, however. Georgia s citizens need training and education to make themselves competitive. Georgia s businesses need support to quickly bring together the right employees to meet the tight deadlines of startups, expansions and new technology improvements. Success is a team effort. The State of Georgia operates a number of agencies whose mission is to ensure that Georgia s citizens have the opportunities to get training and education, and that Georgia s businesses have access to a qualified workforce prepared with the skills required for their operations. These are the reasons CNBC ranked Georgia s workforce best in the nation. This booklet is intended to provide Georgia s communities, civic groups, local and state officials, business leaders and individual citizens with a guide to the primary state organizations that are engaged in this effort. 1

4 Governor s Office of Workforce Development Established in February 2006, the Governor s Office of Workforce Development (GOWD) is responsible for implementing the governor s workforce development policy through Georgia Work Ready. It administers the WIA statewide discretionary funds on behalf of the governor, which provides the funding for the Work Ready initiative, including the competitive Work Ready Community and Work Ready Regions grants. It also serves as staff support to the State Workforce Investment Board and the director serves as the workforce development policy advisor to the Governor. GOWD administers Georgia Work Ready, a unique initiative that links education and workforce and aligns it to the economic development needs of the state, and its regions and communities. Its lead partners are the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and Georgia Power. The success of Georgia Work Ready is its partnership with all workforce development organizations at the state and local levels public and private. It serves as the glue of Georgia s workforce development enterprise, providing technical support where needed. It manages Georgia s Work Ready Regions academy, providing training for all of state s Work Ready Region grant recipients. The office maintains the Work Ready Web site, providing timely and valuable workforce data to Georgians, Georgia businesses and all workforce development partners. How GOWD works with partners Through Georgia Work Ready and its four elements, GOWD works with education, economic development, workforce and businesses partners at the state, regional and local levels both public and private to ensure Georgia has the workforce in place to grow high wage jobs and successfully support business and industry. 2

5 Georgia Work Ready Georgia Work Ready delivers workers with the highest skill level to businesses so that they have the talent needed to succeed. Georgia Work Ready is based on four elements: Work Ready Certificates, Work Ready job profiles, Certified Work Ready Communities and Work Ready Regions. Georgia Work Ready powered by ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate and 36 ACT WorkKeys authorized job profilers is validating that Georgia s workforce is the best and brightest. Through customized job profiles available at no cost to companies meeting minimum hiring criteria, Georgia is able to deliver the workforce needed precisely at the right level. For new and expanding businesses that qualify for Quick Start (see page 7), Georgia Work Ready provides a pipeline of employees that can be quickly trained to enable the company to hit the ground running. Through the Certified Work Ready Communities initiative, participating counties are developing a vast pool of certified workers and increasing their graduation rate. Work Ready Regions build upon local initiatives as multiple counties come together to develop a knowledgeable and skilled workforce for the regions strategic industries. The success of the Work Ready Region initiatives is linked to the hard work and dedication of Georgia s workforce development partnerships at the state, regional and local levels. 3

6 Georgia Department of L abor (GDOL) 4 The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) provides a wide range of services to job seekers and employers. Its primary mission is to administer the state s unemployment insurance program, assist the unemployed in finding jobs, provide timely and accurate labor market information and provide resources to assist disadvantaged youth. Services are delivered through the department s network of Career Centers. Additional services under the department include overseeing the state s vocational rehabilitation program, services for veterans, handling a variety state inspections and providing oversight on child labor issues. The agency administers local Workforce Investment Act funds that provide education, training and support services resources to qualifying at-risk and disconnected youth, low-income adults and dislocated workers. GDOL provides a variety of services to support workforce development. For disadvantaged youth, the department provides resources to support high school drop-out prevention programs through Jobs for Georgia Graduates and administers a successful summer youth program called STEP-UP (Summer Training and Employment Program). The department operates a rapid response program to assist employers facing downsizing with on-site one stop services for adversely impacted employees. In addition, the department has an outstanding labor market information team that provides data to assist the public and private sector. How GDOL works with partners The GDOL works with all workforce development partners at the state and regional levels. At the state level, it works closely with the Georgia Department of Economic Development to provide pre-hiring support for new and expanding companies. At the regional level, it provides services through its network of Career Centers. The department also provides labor market information upon request.

7 One Stop Centers and GDOL Career Centers The Workforce Investment Act authorizes workforce development resources for qualifying disadvantaged youth, low-income adults and dislocated workers to be distributed to service delivery areas. In Georgia, there are 20 WIA service delivery areas, each governed by a local workforce investment board that develops and implements strategic plans. Each board delivers services through One Stop Centers that provide a one-stop shop for qualifying Georgians to improve their skill levels through education and training. In addition, the One Stops also provide support and intensive services to help ensure recipients are successful in achieving their career goals. The One Stop Centers provide services to help Georgians, ranging from high school age through adults in need of a helping hand in developing skills for employment. Their staff provides counseling to their clients and uses a battery of tools to help them make decisions that will put them on the best pathway for career development and employment. The centers provide funds for qualifying Georgians, to assist with education and training costs beyond HOPE scholarships and Pell grants. How One Stop Centers and GDOL Career Centers Work Together One Stop and Career Centers work closely together to provide seamless services to qualifying Georgians. In fact, in many instances, One Stop Centers are housed within Career Centers across the state. How One Stop Centers work with partners The local workforce investment boards are made up of local economic, workforce, education and business members who govern the local One Stop Center. Through these local boards, the One Stop Centers work with these partners, allocating funds and providing services according to the strategic plan. 5

8 Technical College System of Georgia The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) is the state s main provider of technical education, customized corporate training and adult education. Georgia s technical colleges provide a wide range of programs designed to prepare students with the skills and education needed to be successful in a changing economy. The TCSG s programs are continually updated to respond to the needs of industry and offer opportunities for relevant, marketable and quality technical education. Each technical college serves as the cornerstone for workforce and economic development in its region. The colleges maintain close relationships with local business and industry to maximize collaboration among all the entities involved in preparing individuals for successful careers and in delivering workforce support to address the needs of employers. Quick Start (see facing page), is the TCSG s acclaimed program that provides workforce training as an economic development incentive to support job creation and retention across the state. How the TCSG works with partners Georgia s technical colleges work with industry sectors to develop programs that target their evolving needs to ensure a long-term pipeline of qualified employees. The colleges are active in local economic development efforts as well as general community development and civic activities. The colleges also provide sites for Georgia Work Ready assessments and offer job profiling to area companies. 6 5

9 Quick Start Quick Start is Georgia s only provider of customized, comprehensive, workforce training as an incentive for businesses creating and saving jobs. Since 1967, Quick Start has worked with thousands of companies across a wide range of industry types to deliver customized training programs to support the startup of new industries, expansions of existing industries, and the implementation of new technology or processes by existing businesses that are investing to stay competitive. Quick Start is one of Georgia s most successful incentives for attracting new investment to the state. Quick Start consistently ranks as best in the U.S. for workforce training in surveys by media outlets such as Expansion Management magazine. Quick Start s strategic workforce solutions range from preemployment assessment and selection to post-employment, job-specific training. Quick Start also provides training in areas such as continuous improvement through practices such as Lean manufacturing, Visual Factory, and 5S. Quick Start s workforce solutions are provided free of charge to qualified companies creating or saving jobs in Georgia. How quick start works with partners Quick Start is part of the Technical College System of Georgia and is a key part of Georgia s economic development team. Quick Start is a major incentive for companies to invest in Georgia and create or save jobs. Once a project begins, Quick Start works with the local technical college, economic developers, and other state and local entities to provide a comprehensive, strategic workforce solution for a company. 7

10 Universit y System of Georgia The University System of Georgia s Board of Regents was created in 1931 as part of a reorganization of Georgia s state government. With this act, public higher education in Georgia was unified for the first time under a single governing and management authority. The governor appoints members to the board, who each serve seven years. Today the Board of Regents is composed of 18 members, five of whom are appointed from the state-at-large, and one from each of the 13 congressional districts. The board elects a chancellor who serves as its chief executive officer and the chief administrative officer of the University System. The board oversees 35 colleges and universities: four research universities, two regional universities, 13 state universities, eight state colleges and eight two-year colleges. These institutions enroll approximately 302,000 students and employ over 40,000 faculty and staff to provide teaching and related services to students and the communities in which they are located. The University System of Georgia has created a network of outstanding colleges and universities, research centers and economic development professionals that ensure Georgia s workforce gains the education, skills and knowledge necessary for success. How the University system of georgia works with partners Each college and university independently builds partners within its community and region based on its own mission and strategic plan. 8

11 Georgia College GAcollege411.org is a powerful Web site that helps Georgia students plan, apply and pay for college. The site, launched February 2005, is a free service of the State of Georgia, provided by the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC) and its many Georgia partners. GAcollege411.org is a one-stop Web site to help all Georgians from middle school through transitioning adults gain valuable information about careers and colleges, and gives them tools to assist with both. How Ga College 411 works with partners The Georgia Student Finance Commission manages the gacollege411.org Web site and the HOPE scholarship program in Georgia. As the prime funding support for post-secondary education in Georgia, it is a key workforce development partner. The executive director is a member of both the Alliance of Education Agency Heads and of the State Workforce Investment Board s coordinating council. 9

12 Alliance of Education Agency Heads The Alliance of Education Agency Heads is charged with collaborating on policies and programs that can prepare our next generation for the opportunities and challenges of the 21st century. This effective inter-agency organization is capable of implementing sustainable change in education designed to improve workforce readiness, including addressing the state s high school graduation rate, post-secondary enrollment rate and SAT/ACT scores. How the alliance works with partners The Alliance is composed of the leaders of seven state agencies: Department of Education, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, Georgia Student Finance Commission, Department of Early Care and Learning, Professional Standards Commission, Technical College System of Georgia and Office of Student Achievement. It is chaired by State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox, and meets regularly to collaborate on intereducation policies to meet its strategic objectives. The Alliance is supported by P16 and an implementation team consisting of staff members from each agency and the director of the Governor s Office of Workforce Development. The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education and the Metro Atlanta Chamber also serve as advisory members to bring the voice of the business community to the table and advise business leaders on the Alliance s work. 10

13 intellectual Capital Partnership Progr am Georgia s Intellectual Capital Partnership Program (ICAPP) is the University System of Georgia s economic development program. ICAPP helps Georgia businesses tap into Georgia s 35 public colleges and universities to access potential employees, the latest research and business and operations advice. GeorgiaHIRE.com is a free, online recruiting service that helps companies find the college-educated talent they need. ICAPP Advantage provides customized, accelerated education for knowledge workers in high demand but short supply. The program creates expedited curriculum that a company designs with a college or university. ICAPP Health Professionals Initiative specifically addresses the critical shortage of registered nurses, pharmacists and other health care workers. How ICAPP works with partners ICAPP is a partner with the Georgia Department of Economic Development in helping recruit new companies to Georgia. 11

14 DEPARTMENT of Education The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) oversees public education throughout the state. It ensures that laws and regulations pertaining to education are followed and that state and federal money appropriated for education is properly allocated to local school systems. The agency sets goals for improving high school graduation rates and coordinates the high school graduation coach program. It also provides education-related information to students, parents, teachers, educational staff, government officials and the media. As part of its strategy to lead the nation in improving student achievement, the GaDOE has set a goal of improving workforce readiness skills. This includes: Increasing industry recognized certifications in career, technical and education programs and the number of high school seniors earning Work Ready Certificates. Developing work-based learning: nontraditional students, apprenticeship programs, and mentoring internships. Creating career pathways which include Agriculture, Healthcare Science, Business and Computer Science, Marketing, Sales and Services, Engineering and Technology, and Architecture, Construction, Communications and Transportation. Establishing career academies. How GaDOE works with partners GaDOE works with all partners to promote a seamless education system that emphasizes college and career readiness. The department also works with Georgia Work Ready Regions partners to implement programs of study aligned to critical jobs identified as regional strategic industries. 12

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16 Governor s Office of Workforce Development Georgia Work Ready Georgia Department of Labor One Stop Centers and GDOL Career Centers Technical College System of Georgia Quick Start University System of Georgia Georgia College Alliance of Education Agency Heads Intellectual Capital Partnership Program Department of Education