The Governor’s Office of Workforce Development is working to turn Georgia’s unskilled labor force into skilled workers that can meet the demands of employers, director Tricia Pridemore told the Buckhead Business Association on Oct. 6.
Pridemore told the audience that in the 1950s the majority of the workforce—60 percent—was unskilled labor, taking jobs that didn’t require specific training or experience. Today the unskilled labor jobs account for 12 percent of the workforce with skilled labor accounting for 68 percent of the workforce.
Pridemore said her office’s goal is to help turn unskilled workers into skilled labor to help lower the unemployment rate in Georgia, which is 10.2 percent, higher than the national average of 9.1 percent.
She talked about the office’s work ready program which provides “skills assessment and certification for job seekers and a job profiling system for businesses,” according to the Georgia Work Ready website.
She also talked about her office’s skilled labor initiative to match up workers with the needs of the manufacturing industry. She said part of the problem is getting past the idea that success requires a four-year degree. It isn’t always the case, she said.
“They’re desperate for electricians and welders and pipe fitters and plumbers,” Pridemore said of the manufacturing sector. “They are really great jobs.”
Evin Earnhart, branch manager for TRC Staffing Services, attended the BBA meeting to learn what Pridemore’s office is doing about the shortage of jobs for unskilled labor.
“I appreciate her being here because I think it’s a tumultuous market for her to be a director of workforce development,” Earnhart said.
