Education, transportation investments needed

Remarks from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s Eggs & Issues breakfast

I am honored to join this chamber for the beginning of yet another legislative session.  In my State of the State address, I will detail where I stand on some topics of interest to this group, including education reform and improvements to our transportation network.  Tomorrow I will present a plan for changes to our K-12 education system that will promote better results in our classrooms.  In addition, while many suggestions and options are on the table, I want to make clear that I support increasing funding for strategic transportation investments.  Details of how this will be accomplished will certainly require discussion.  I look forward to continuing that conversation tomorrow.

Today I want to talk about what it will take to keep Georgia leading the nation as the No. 1 place to do business.  State and local governments, local chambers and others have joined together to get us to the top.  I want to thank those of you here for your vital support throughout the past four years. I ask you to continue to stand with me as we seek to land more jobs and more investment.  What this business community does over the next four years—and perhaps more importantly what it doesn’t do—will echo throughout our state for decades to come.

Holding on to the No. 1 spot will require advancements in our transportation network and K-12 education system, but it will also require developing a better workforce through a focus on higher education.  My budgetary and policy initiatives will, for example:

•             Encourage earlier access to higher education courses through the broadening of dual enrollment programs

•             Entice those who never completed college to come back and earn their degree, and

•             Expand and strengthen apprenticeship programs with companies throughout our state—some of you are already involved in this

These contributions will help reinforce our economy and business climate.  Investors and site selectors regularly cite the quality of our labor pool as a critical factor in their decisions.  While Georgia performs well in this category, we cannot afford to let our workforce gaps widen into ravines.  A job that remains open because of a lack of capable applicants undermines the diligent efforts it took to get it here.  We must therefore work to fill these gaps by directing our young people to careers in those areas where jobs are in demand.  

Over the past couple of years, the General Assembly and I have fully funded tuition for students in our technical colleges pursuing a degree in certain strategic industries. In these seven key areas, workforce shortages have led us to take action:

•             commercial driving

•             practical nursing

•             early childhood education

•             welding

•             health care technology

•             diesel mechanics, and

•             information technology

I certainly want to thank the members of this chamber who played a role in my High Demand Career Initiative, which has recommended four additional areas of study to add to that list.  My budget this year reflects my commitment to meeting the needs of employers in these sectors:

•             precision manufacturing

•             certified engineering technician

•             computer programing, and

•             film and set design

In this way, we hope to incentivize more to go into these viable careers, rather than ones with few job prospects and little hope of a meaningful career. In doing so, we will bolster our economy and continue to attract business.  

One of the areas I mentioned has a growing workforce need that stems from Georgia’s increasing role as the backdrop for motion pictures.  Our film industry is booming, adding to our economy $5.1B dollars in the last fiscal year alone.  We are ranked 3rd in the nation and 5th in the world in film production.  And major production companies are locating and expanding here, with our favorable tax credits and diverse locations continuing to draw in more projects and business each month.

This growth in productions has created a need for more skilled hands to work behind-the-scenes on television and movies, serving in such capacities as set designers, costume designers and production assistants.  Our ability to fill these jobs is at critical mass.  Something must be done.  The tuition incentive is the first solution.  Here’s the second.

I am proposing the establishment of a Georgia Film Academy, which will be a partnership between the University System and the Technical College System.  This academy will attract and train workers for the vital film industry to keep up with demand. Producers will not wait if we delay.  They will simply film somewhere else.  Therefore, my budget recommendations this year will take steps to get the process started.  Georgia cannot afford for another state to do to us what we are doing to Hollywood!

Another area I mentioned was computer programming.  Our state can certainly use a few more young people who understand not only the value of coding, but also how to do it.  In fact, over half of new STEM-related jobs are expected to be in computing occupations, with these skills benefitting more than just those in the technology sector.  Georgia companies should not have to look out of state to find employees who can secure their networks and build their technological products.

We must train our students at an early age to conquer the hurdles of the Digital Age.  Currently only a fraction of students take AP Computer Science or other related courses, and in many instances these courses are not even offered.  In addition to the grant areas I am proposing, I am providing an incentive for more young people to learn computer programming before they enter college by allowing it to count toward high school graduation requirements for foreign language, math or science.

Like so many others, the students who enter these 11 fields will receive instruction and training from our excellent technical colleges, paving for them a path to employment.  In keeping with this notion, I have decided to rename our Technical College System of Georgia, calling it the Georgia Career College System.  I think it is a better reflection of what they actually do and will encourage more to attend these schools.    

Investors want to know about our existing resources, yes, but they also want to know where Georgia is headed.  They want to hear not just that we are No. 1, but that we will remain No. 1.  Taking action to uphold the high standards of our workforce will keep our citizens employed, our businesses humming and our economy strong. Therefore let us continue to take bold and proactive steps, tempered only by prudence, that we may leave for future generations an indomitable spirit and the skills to back it up.