MEDIA CONTACT: Matt Cardoza, GaDOE Communications Office, (404) 651-7358, mcardoza@gadoe.org

-Follow DOE on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

January 25, 2017 – Georgia businesses need a skilled workforce, and every year, Georgia high schools are graduating talented students in need of meaningful career opportunities. In an effort to better connect those two groups, to the benefit of Georgia students and the overall economic health of the state, the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) and state partners are launching the Georgia Career Pipeline Tool, accessible at gacareerpipeline.gadoe.org.

The Career Pipeline Tool, developed by the GaDOE in partnership with business, industry, education and state-agency partners, is a web application that allows students and business/industry leaders to compare the CTAE programs offered in each Georgia high school with the workforce needs of specific regions within the state. This will provide students with helpful information on areas of growth within their region (or a region where they’d like to live after high school), allowing them to match the career education they pursue with available opportunities. The tool will also allow businesses to see the availability of students with a specific skillset in any Georgia county, zip code, or Economic Development Region – helping them make important decisions concerning growth, development, and workforce needs.

“We know there are many businesses who are doing great work and investing in Georgia’s economy, and they need a strong pipeline of qualified employees,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “We also know Georgia’s high schools have redoubled their efforts to equip students with practical skills so they can move into a successful, fulfilling future. The Georgia Career Pipeline Tool will connect those two groups and expand opportunities for Georgia’s high school graduates.”

In Georgia’s schools, students take Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) courses and, in high school, choose a Career Pathway that equips them with skills and industry certifications in a field of their choice. Students are studying everything from manufacturing to finance to health science through courses that provide real-world experiences and work-based learning opportunities. 

“In order to accomplish our CTAE mission of educating Georgia’s future workforce by providing experiences for Georgia students that will prepare them for workplace success, we must partner with a variety of stakeholders,” said Dr. Barbara Wall, GaDOE’s Director of Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education. “The Georgia Career Pipeline is an example of a true partnership where many stakeholders realized their own return on investment and were willing to work together to produce a product that will be beneficial to everyone.”

The Georgia Career Pipeline Tool is available for public use for business/industry representatives, students, teachers, school counselors, Chamber of Commerce and economic development leaders, postsecondary recruiters, state workforce associations, and any others who may find it useful.

“When I started my position with the Atlanta Electrical Contractors Association some 17 years ago, I was charged with building a ‘pipeline of applicants’ from area school systems for our electrical apprenticeship program,” said Chuck Little, Human Resources Director for the Atlanta Electrical Contractors Association. “What that meant was hours and days and weeks of researching individual school systems to find the right schools, the right administrators and the right teachers who could help me make that happen. This new Georgia Career Pipeline web application puts all that kind of information right at your fingertips instantaneously. It is amazing how you can find not only the right contacts, but you will know everything about the potential pool of students in each and every Career Pathway around the entire state of Georgia.”

Other GaDOE initiatives aimed at increasing collaboration between the education and business communities include a new Superintendent’s Business and Industry Advisory Council, the creation of an Economic Development Specialist position, and collaborative work with the Technical College System of Georgia, the University System of Georgia, the Georgia Department of Labor and the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

The Career Pipeline Tool is part of the Educating Georgia’s Future Workforce initiative, which is aimed at increasing the state’s focus on career education and expanding partnerships with the business community.