Other programs are meant to certify the employability of less educated job applicants, and to strengthen the skills of high school students.
Georgia House Bill 186 is legislation asking schools to teach and certify soft job skills of ethics, working in teams, proper attire, punctuality, and courtesy. Gov. Nathan Deal signed it into law on May 13. “We must provide options that lead all Georgia students to success, whether they plan to go to college, technical school, or immediately enter the work force,” said state Rep. Randy Nix in a press release.
“What do we do with those who may not be your Columbia, Berkeley U, or Georgia State graduate that says to himself, I’m not the scholarly type. What can I do with my hands to make a living?” asked Melvin Everson. He has been speaking at a series of town halls about HB 186 and about Workready certification.
Everson is executive director of Georgia’s Office of Work Force Development. He said, “We don’t have enough people coming out of our institutions with the necessary skill sets to align … with the job market. Our students come out of college—not ready.”
Former Gov. Sonny Perdue launched the governor’s office of Workforce Development (GOWD) in August 2006 to improve training and marketability of Georgia’s workforce and drive future economic growth for the state, according to the gaworkready.org website.
The office administers Work Ready, an assessment system that certifies that an individual has certain real world job skills. Job seekers take tests to measure applied mathematics, reading comprehension, and attitudes such as drive, cooperation, and discipline. Certificate levels range from Bronze, having the skills and traits needed for 35 percent of jobs, to Platinum, having the skills and traits to perform 99 percent of jobs in the national Work Keys database.
Tests are free and coaching to improve scores is free.
Since August 2006, over 900 businesses have looked for the Work Ready certificate, according to Everson.
Best Buy’s national distribution site in Dublin, Ga., posted a testimonial on the Work Ready website, which said, “Consumer electronics retail giant Best Buy depends on hardworking middle Georgians every day at its distribution center located in Dublin, Ga. … to ensure its current employees and new hires have the skills necessary for success. Best Buy uses Georgia’s Work Ready initiative to profile its warehousing jobs and to assess the skill level of current employees, resulting in better performance all around.”
Everson said, “We need to rethink our developmental educational system and find the best practices for ourselves. The school system has become a massive day care center, I think we, the systems, have a role to play if values are not discussed at home.
Everson said his parents were very protective of their reputation. His father told him, “Every time you walk out that door you represent me. So don’t do anything stupid.”
He said he decided he would find the best practice for himself to represent his family and their values. “We can’t paint all of Georgia by the news of the Atlanta cheating scandal. It’s just another black eye and it’s a negative occurrence cited to overshadow the good things done here in Georgia.”
Georgia’s college graduation rates are a little lower than the national average, according to the Census Bureau. The U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) reported that 34 percent of Georgians between the ages of 25 and 34 had college degrees, including two-year associate degrees.
