Washington-Wilkes work force academy gets state approval: 'This is our future...'
By KIP BURKE news editor

After years of work, the development of a Washington-Wilkes workforce academy has been approved by the state of Georgia to meet the pressing needs of the Wilkes County work force and employers.

"This is our future," said team member Ed Geddings. "We have a great work force here with a good work ethic, but we've got to teach them high-tech skills, and we've got to do it here, and we've got to do it now."

After getting the input of scores of citizens and local leaders at Communities of Opportunity meetings last year, Co-Op team leaders identified the need for workforce development as the most pressing long-term challenge to Washington-Wilkes.

The formal presentation to the Georgia Rural Development Council was made June 16 by Geddings. The local presentation team was led by County Commission Chairman Sam Moore and Washington Mayor Willie E. Burns.

In his presentation, Geddings stressed that Wilkes County's ability to attract industry and to fill hightech jobs is absolutely dependent on enhancing workers' skills to match the needs of the industry, and to do so within the county.

"Most plants use technical schools to train new employees," he said, "and if we don't have a facility where they can train them, the plants just won't come here."

Working with Athens Technical College, he said, can help high school students move into postsecondary education and into the workforce, but the community has to furnish the facility. "We want Athens Tech to run it, but we've got to furnish the facility. And we sure can't expect our students to go to Athens, or Elberton, or Thomson - not with $4 gas."

The old Wilkes Academy building on Lexington Avenue is a perfect facility, he said. The state officials like the building, and much work has already been done to the old school.

The other option, the present high school complex, won't be available for more than a year, and that's just not soon enough, he said. "We're losing jobs and people right now. We've waited long enough."

After Geddings' presentation, the Georgia Rural Development Council voted that afternoon to present the Washington-Wilkes Workforce Academy as the Communities of Opportunity project for Washington- Wilkes.

The contract between Washington- Wilkes and several state agencies is now being prepared. The council will recommend state resources that should be made available to Washington-Wilkes help make the workforce academy a reality.

Representatives from two nearby counties, after hearing Geddings' presentation, have asked him to come to their communities and make the same presentation.

As a pilot site for the state Communities of Opportunity Initiative, the local Washington-Wilkes Co-Op committee has been working for more than a year with representatives from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, said Tina Hutcheson, DCA Region 7 Representative, in preparation for making this presentation.

The local committee set three goals for the next two years: to determine workforce needs of Wilkes employers by creating and disseminating a survey to local employers; to initiate technical training in Wilkes County with the development of a career academy; and finally, to provide the Wilkes County workforce with public transportation to education and employment.

After surveying local employers, the local committee identified the lack of a skilled workforce as the main issue in recruiting and keeping high-wage jobs in the county. The local school system is not able to provide the technical "hard" skills needed for good jobs, or provide training in the soft skills needed to get and keep jobs, their study said.

To bring the plan to fruition, local organizations and government entities will work with state partners. The Washington-Wilkes Payroll Development Authority, Chamber of Commerce, Wilkes County Board of Education, the City of Washington, and Wilkes County government will work with Athens Technical College, the state Departments of Labor, Human Resources, and Training and Adult Ed and other entities to put the plan into action.

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