Georgia’s manufacturing sector is large and growing rapidly. But the industry, which accounts for nearly 10% of the state’s economic output, has struggled to hire and retain enough workers.
The Georgia Association of Manufacturers (GAM) is taking a hands-on approach to the workforce crisis. It created new fast-track training paths that have the potential to quickly prepare workers to step into good manufacturing jobs. GAM and its members also are covering costs for the earn-and-learn program.
Stephanie Scearce, the group’s vice president of workforce innovation, talked with Work Shift about the fast-track training solution. Scearce, who previously worked for a two-year technical college in the state, described the small experiment’s ambitions, and how she hopes it will serve as an example of what’s possible in Georgia, and beyond.
Q: What’s driving the interest in short-term training?
A: The 2023 turnover rate in manufacturing for Georgia is 56%. While still very concerning, that’s actually an improvement from last year. To put things into perspective, of the 424,205 manufacturing jobs in Georgia, we’re not able to retain 238,421 of them. I strongly suspect one of the major causes is manufacturers having to “rob Peter to pay Paul.” Because we no longer have “available” skilled workers, manufacturers are forced to compete with fellow manufacturers to fill their vacancies. This is obviously not sustainable.
This is why GAM is involved in workforce development: it’s time we rolled up our sleeves and acted. Over the last year, we’ve developed a two-pronged workforce strategy. One approach focuses on fast-track solutions to address immediate workforce needs, while the other focuses on initiatives to address long-term needs. Ultimately, the overarching goal is to foster a net increase in the availability of workers with manufacturing skills.
As a whole, Georgia has done a tremendous job of supporting initiatives that address industries’ long-term needs, such as financially supporting career pathways at the secondary and postsecondary levels, providing tuition assistance for credit programs in high-demand fields, and much more. While that support is critical and must be continued, it only addresses long-term needs, which manufacturers can’t benefit from NOW and at the needed scale. Georgia has a great opportunity to strengthen its support for solutions aimed at addressing immediate workforce needs. I’m optimistic that GAM’s fast-track solutions will provide valuable insights for supporting such efforts.
For example, GAM administered a workforce needs assessment in 2023. It asked manufacturers to tell us their occupational needs, the skills and credentials required, the timeframe in which these needs must be met, and the untapped populations they’re willing to consider for hire. Most respondents indicated they needed to focus on filling technician-related occupations within three-to-five months.
To address this, GAM partnered with the Technical College System of Georgia to develop and finalize six fast-track (noncredit) training solutions to address the fundamental skills needed for entry-level production, mechanical technician, electrical technician, multi-craft maintenance, robotics technician, and welding.
These training solutions were purposefully developed to equip individuals with no manufacturing experience with up to level-two technician skills within three to five months. For reference, if an individual were to enroll in a similar program on the credit side at a postsecondary institution, it would take them at least a year to acquire the same technical skills. That’s because you have to adhere to academic schedules and admission and accreditation requirements with credit programs, which slows the training timeline immensely.
Q: How are you hoping to reach small employers with this fast-track training experiment?
A: Our fast-track training solutions are considered noncredit, which means an individual will not receive a credential in the form of a certificate, diploma, or degree. Noncredit also doesn’t qualify for most financial aid options, including the state’s HOPE program and federal Pell Grants.
In general, manufacturers aren’t concerned if an individual has a formal credential or degree. What is most important is that they can demonstrate and prove they have the knowledge and skills needed for a job. With this in mind, and given the immediacy of our members’ needs, that’s why we chose to pursue the noncredit route for our training solutions—because we need to address our members’ technical needs in three-to-five months. Additionally, our fast-track training solutions are accompanied by an end-of-course assessment so those who complete training can verify the knowledge and skills learned.
However, because noncredit doesn’t qualify for most financial aid, it comes at a cost, which is often an impediment to smaller manufacturers. As a result, GAM has committed to offsetting at least 70 percent of the training costs associated with our fast-track training solutions, with participating members matching the remaining 30 percent. For example, we are piloting our multi-craft (mechanical and electrical) maintenance technician fast-track program in the Augusta area, which takes about five months to complete. The cost of administering that training starts at $42K for a class size of 10. With GAM’s investment, we were able to bring that cost down to $12,600 or $1,260 per trainee. GAM’s investment made the training more accessible to smaller manufacturers, who otherwise would not have been able to participate had GAM not been involved. Through this pilot, and the other three GAM is sponsoring, we see that such support helps enable more of our smaller and medium-sized manufacturers to take advantage of a training solution they need.
Q: Will you pay participants in this program? Who will fund it?
A: The way we address this sets our initiative apart. Participants enrolled in GAM’s sponsored fast-track training cohorts receive pay while in training. That’s because anyone enrolled in our sponsored cohorts is an employee of one of our manufacturing members, regardless of whether this employee is an incumbent worker—who has been with the manufacturer for years—or is a new hire. The fact is that we can’t expect someone wanting to gain the skills our manufacturers need to go without pay for three-to-five months. They need to make ends meet and put food on the table.
We’re still in the very early stages of our pilot to see how these fast-track solutions address immediate workforce needs, and we’ll be measuring and evaluating that impact well into the next year. However, some of our manufacturing participants are taking advantage of our pilot cohorts by advertising for new hiring opportunities with the tagline, “No Experience, No Problem!” I absolutely love it for two reasons: (1) it sounds like a Kenny Chesney song, and more importantly, (2) it shows just how serious our manufacturers are about investing time and money into creating and growing their workforce.
When they complete the program, participants in the pilot will receive an industry-recognized credential endorsed by GAM and our manufacturing members. That’s an important and valuable credential for workers. But because we’re taking the noncredit route, we have to pay out-of-pocket for the program
We’re very fortunate at GAM, as we have a foundation, the Manufacturers Education Foundation. The MEF allows GAM to offset the costs associated with our fast-track solutions.
To put real numbers to it, we are sponsoring four fast-tracking cohorts in select regions across the state: Northwest Georgia, West Georgia, East Georgia, and Coastal Georgia. In Northwest Georgia and West Georgia, we are sponsoring mechanical technician training; in East Georgia, multi-craft (mechanical and electrical) maintenance technician training; and entry-level production training in Coastal Georgia. Collectively, the total cost to administer all four cohorts is
$102K, allowing us to train a total of 38 associates employed across seven of our participating manufacturing members. For this current cohort, GAM has committed to pay a minimum of $71,400, with participating members matching a maximum of $30,600.
Again, I believe this approach sets our initiative apart from many others. We are literally taking the workforce crisis into our own hands and doing something about it. We must.
Q: What’s your ambition for this experiment?
A: First, the purpose of these fast-track training solutions is to establish industry-recognized credentials in Georgia, addressing manufacturers’ immediate workforce needs across the state, regardless of size or specialty. Again, you have to remember our goal for these solutions is to facilitate a net increase in our labor-force participation, so we have to equip individuals and untapped populations—who may have no manufacturing experience—with the skills manufacturers need now. Additionally, the competencies being taught are very much needed and transferable across Georgia’s manufacturing verticals. Regardless of whether you’re a manufacturer specializing in automotive, flooring, machinery, food processing, etc., these are skills all manufacturers ultimately need. By GAM taking the lead on establishing member-endorsed fast-track training solutions, I believe we’re paving the way for establishing such industry-recognized credentials specific to manufacturing as a whole.
Second, and building off the first, I want these fast-track industry-recognized credentials to eventually allow for standardized credit course exemption at institutions, particularly at Georgia’s 22 technical colleges. If we could do a course exemption “crosswalk” with technical colleges justifying that GAM’s solutions are teaching the same competencies in specific diploma and degree programs, imagine how that could expedite an individual’s path—who completed one of our fast-track solutions—toward obtaining a degree from an accredited institution specializing in the skilled trades. I mean, it’s a win, win, WIN! Win for the individual, win for the manufacturer, and win for the local community college.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I want these fast-track training solutions to illuminate opportunities for our state to enhance support for existing manufacturers, ultimately helping us to chip away at that 56% turnover rate. Many state leaders may assume that’s already being done. However, they may not realize that current support is for long-term initiatives, like credit programs at postsecondary institutions, and for free customized training for qualifying new jobs via QuickStart. While these efforts are commendable and should continue, we must evaluate their immediate impact on job retention.
Our manufacturers face an urgent need to fill positions promptly, and waiting one to two years for graduates from relevant credit programs isn’t feasible. Moreover, it’s crucial to evaluate the impact of funding customized workforce training for new jobs when retention rates for existing jobs are a concern. This highlights the opportunity for Georgia to enhance its support for initiatives that address both immediate workforce needs and sustain long-term growth strategies effectively.
It’s crucial for our state to seriously consider this issue and ask ourselves, “How effectively are we supporting our existing businesses and encouraging their continued success?” If we were to evaluate our current support and resources, I’m confident we would discover areas for improvement. The driving force behind our strategy is to not only highlight the challenges within our workforce, but also present viable solutions and assist in their implementation.