Governor’s High Demand Career InitiativePreparing Georgia’s Future Workforce Today

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)

What is the purpose of the Governor’s High Demand Career Initiative (HDCI)? The economic development community in Georgia, led by Governor Deal, has heard repeatedly from the private sector that one of the greatest challenges facing businesses in Georgia, nationally, and globally is the need for a consistent, trained and reliable workforce. In response, Governor Deal created the HDCI to allow those involved in training Georgia’s future workforce - the University System of Georgia (USG) and the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) - to hear directly from the private sector about what specific needs they have from a workforce perspective (i.e., degrees/majors, certificates, courses, etc.) 5–10 years in the future. This will allow those involved in workforce development in Georgia to quickly develop those needs where they do not currently exist or inform the companies about existing assets in either the USG or TCSG. Where the need does not currently exist, USG or TCSG will commit to partner with the companies to meet those needs as quickly as possible, where appropriate and feasible. The Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Workforce Division (GDEcD) will coordinate this collaborative effort.

This initiative is not a one-time event, but rather a change of culture to create a long-term infrastructure of communication to meet the workforce needs of Georgia businesses.

What is the next step in this initiative? To kick off the initiative - three public meetings have been scheduled to provide an opportunity for these institutes of education to hear directly from companies on their specific workforce needs and in turn, to report on existing academic assets or training programs, including the development of future programs. A brief Workforce Survey will be forwarded to participating companies prior to the meeting to insure the meetings are targeted and productive. Governor Nathan Deal will be in attendance at each of these public meetings.

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Who we are asking to attend these meetings? The Georgia Department of Economic Development has identified key companies in strategic industries to invite to discuss their workforce needs so that we can insure that they have a consistent, trained and reliable workforce in the future. This will ensure the long-term success of Georgia business and provide a critical service to Georgia’s citizens.

What will we do with the information provided?The Georgia Department of Economic Development will coordinate with its partners at USG and TCSG to establish a relationship with each company to discuss how best to meet each company’s future workforce needs, where appropriate and feasible.

Please note – we will not ask for any trade secrets. We are simply asking for publicly available or publicly appropriate information about the workforce needs of the company.

Where will the meetings take place?Atlanta – Tuesday, April 15, 2014, 8:30am-11:00am (Georgia Tech Research Institute Conference Center - GTRI)Dalton – Monday, April 21, 2014, 9:00am-12:00pm (Georgia Northwestern Technical College)Statesboro – Tuesday, May 13, 2014, 9:00am-12:00pm (Georgia Southern University)

What will each participate be asked to do?1. Identify the most appropriate representative who has the greatest knowledge of the company’s workforce needs and

have that individual or those individuals attend the meeting that the company has been invited to participate in.2. Present for 5-10 minutes regarding the general overview of workforce needs for the company for the next 5-10 years.3. Provide a point of contact for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, USG, and TCSG to work with to

establish communication regarding an action plan for the company.4. Approximately 7-10 days before the meeting, submit a completed Workforce Survey regarding the information that

will be presented at the meeting you will be attending. This will allow USG and TCSG adequate time to be able to identify currently existing assets and report those to the company at the public meeting.

If I have questions or need additional information, who do I contact?Ben Hames, Deputy Commissioner Georgia Department of Economic Development Workforce Division Phone: 404.962.4010 Fax: 404.876.1181Email: bhames@georgia.orgWebsite: Workforce.Georgia.org