Career Kids : Workforce training in Morgan County
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Madison, Ga.—The labor pool in Morgan County just became more competitive with the addition of a high school career academy.
Nestled on U.S. Route 441 between Athens and Milledgeville, Morgan County is home to 18,000 people.
The county is expected to grow 3 percent according to Bob Hughes, the president and the economic development director at the Morgan County Chamber of Commerce.
The growth, coupled with a 2.9 percent unemployment rate, has made the county ripe for new business opportunities. The second lowest figure since 2008 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Opened in October 2018, Morgan County High School became home to the 47th career academy in Georgia to train in welding, engineering and other trade skills.
The grant application to Georgia College & Career Academies highlighted two main points for providing early vocational training. One is unmotivated high school students that would benefit from hands-on training in addition to supplying highly-skilled workers to new and expanding businesses in the region.
The four pathways of the high school academy are arts and humanities, science and industry, media communications and lastly, health and human services.
"We definitely looked at the needs of the community, but we also polled all the students and said 'hey, what are you interested in?' and that's how we designed our four academies," Jennifer Butler, director of the career, technical, and agricultural education at the high school, said.
The training supports large employers in the area such as Morgan County Board of Education, Georgia Pacific, Mannington Mills, Morgan Memorial Hospital and retailers like Walmart and Lowe's which make up over 3,500 employees, according to Hughes.
The success of the academy from its yearly review to "determine change in workforce needs" and adjust training accordingly, a point emphasized by the academy proposal and Butler alike.
Charter schools systems like Morgan County can waive the state board of education rule that says all teachers have to be certified educators, which adds to the flexibility and the longevity of the academy. Since they exist under a contract with local or state board of education, the Georgia Department of Education states charter schools have leeway from "certain state and local rules in exchange for a higher degree of accountability for raising student achievement."
"If you have a welding program you can pull someone out of industry with welding experience to teach that class without that individual having to go through the hoops of taking educational classes and thereby being a certified Georgia educator," Williams explained.
Williams said in many instances companies help create the curriculum for technical courses, to ensure that "businesses in Georgia maintain a healthy applicant pool."
At Morgan County High School a steering committee made up of manufacturers, businesses, education personnel and the CTAE director conduct the annual assessment to introduce new skills classes or continue existing ones.
"What's in-demand today might not be an in-demand career five to 10 years from now, so (schools) have to be flexible in what they offer," Williams said.
