Survey Names Georgia 'No. 1 in U.S.' for Workforce Training
Gwinnett Technical College Offers Lauded Quick Start Program
Georgia has once again been selected as the number one state in the U.S. for workforce training through the Quick Start program, offered in the area by Gwinnett Technical College, in Expansion Management magazine's annual survey of site selection professionals.
"In a poll of more than 80 site location consultants, the State of Georgia was ranked number one in the country for workforce training for its Quick Start program," the magazine reported in its latest issue. The magazine also noted that for the past six years, Georgia has ranked either number one or number two. That consistent performance has made Georgia the overall top-ranked state in the country since the survey began in 1999.
Gorton Wood, Expansion Management's director of economic development, said that he is not surprised by Georgia's ranking. He described the reputation of Georgia's training program by saying, "You can't talk about workforce training without talking about Quick Start."
"Quick Start has proven itself time and again that it is one of Georgia's best assets for economic development," said Gov. Sonny Perdue. "The quality of our workforce attracts investment from around the globe, and Quick Start's workforce training helps guarantee those companies' success in Georgia."
"It's an honor that site location professionals recognize the value of Quick Start," said Ron Jackson, Commissioner of the Department of Technical and Adult Education, of which Quick Start is a part. "It is the linchpin for our agency's economic development efforts."
Expansion Management's managing editor, Ken Krizner, attributes Georgia's consistently high rankings to one thing: "Georgia has created an environment that is very attractive to expanding companies from anywhere in the world. Quick Start is an important part of that environment. Quick Start has the ability and the knowledge to train a work force that is ready to go from day one."
"We have long-standing relationships built on our Quick Start training programs," said Gwinnett Tech President Sharon Bartels. "Through our customized and Quick Start initiatives we are able to do for companies what they, in many cases, cannot do for themselves. We are able to quickly rally, using our reliable collection of instructors, course materials, equipment and facilities and deliver state-of-the-art training programs - with little turn-around time and in a cost-effective manner. We become a trusted resource for businesses in our community. In fact, once we're introduced to a business, we generally work with them again and again."
"We began partnering with Gwinnett Tech and Georgia Quick Start to help fulfill our internal training needs when we began our recent manufacturing plant expansion," said Mike Price, Human Resources Manager with Elesys North America, one of the world's leading developers of automotive electronic safety systems, headquartered in Suwanee. "The results have been so successful and in line with our goals that we have continued that partnership and often turn to the college to help us when training needs arise, particularly in the areas of electronics manufacturing."
For more information on this year's rankings, visit http://www.expansionmanagement.com/ and scroll down to the 2007 WORK FORCE TRAINING article. For more information on Quick Start, visit http://www.georgiaquickstart.org/ .
For more information about Gwinnett Tech and the Georgia Quick Start program, call 770-995-9697 or visit www.GwinnettTech.edu.
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