Georgia Perimeter College Newton Campus addresses Gov. Deal’s high-demand career initiative

Newton Citizen, Dec. 13, 2014

Gov. Nathan Deal’s recently released High Demand Career Initiative (HDCI) addressed the future needs for Georgia’s workforce, and local schools have been reviewing their programs to meet these needs.

The HDCI was launched by Deal and led by the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia. It highlights the overall trends, high-demand careers and skills, challenges, recommendations and what Georgia businesses anticipate they will need in the coming years.

According to a press release from Deal’s office, the HDCI focused on the future needs of strategic industries in Georgia including agriculture, aerospace, automotive manufacturing, defense, film, television, interactive entertainment, health care, life sciences, information technology, logistics and manufacturing.

Georgia Perimeter College’s Newton Campus has programs to address these needs, including a new program—which will be announced in January. The program is expected to combine life sciences, such as chemistry and biology, and health care.

GPC Newton Dean Dr. Paulos Yohannes said that although the school currently has several science programs, it may need to alter them at the prospect of future major local employers setting up shop in Newton County.

“We have companies like Baxter who are coming out here, so we may have to improve our life sciences area,” said Yohannes.

Along with Baxter, Yohannes stated that GPC has been meeting with other major local employers such as Triple Horse Studios and SKC to talk about the needs of the future workforce and what skills are desired for future employees.

Deal’s report also indicated the value of internships and co-op programs as a method of gaining access to and training future employees. Along with the new life sciences program to meet the changing workforce needs, GPC also has Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs that find scholarships for students to do summer research, having students go to other universities and performing research in certain fields.

http://www.newtoncitizen.com/news/2014/dec/13/georgia-perimeter-college-newton-campus-address/