Glynn County Workforce Development
Over the past few years, there have been significant improvements in Glynn County’s workforce development institutions. Glynn County has opened a charter technical high school that trains students with the skills they need to succeed in aerospace, manufacturing, and other technical trades. Coastal Pines Technical College opened a new campus that provides post secondary technical training. The College of Coastal Georgia made the transition to a four year college and has seen a tremendous amount of success and growth.
The workforce of Glynn County is a diverse mix of college graduates, military personnel, and graduates of our numerous technical training programs. The area has the infrastructure to get the workforce a business needs to thrive. The Golden Isles Career Academy and Coastal Pines Technical College are located next to each other in the Brunswick McBride Industrial Park which is located directly across from the Brunswick Golden Isles Airport.
One of the biggest advantages to new and expanding businesses is Georgia’s Quick Start program which offers world-class training programs at no cost (see below). The area is a popular tourist destination so attracting and keeping the right people is never a problem.
Coastal Pines Technical College
We know that a quality workforce is critical to new and expanding businesses.
With a primary mission of “Workforce Development,” Coastal Pines Technical College is a great asset in the Golden Isles’ training arena, offering Certificates of Credit that can give employees overall understanding and specific skills training for working in Manufacturing, Warehouse & Distribution, Leadership and Customer Service. This is in addition to Associates Degree, diploma and certificate programs in technical and industrial, medical, information technology, personal services and business fields.
Coastal Pines Technical College has a 98.2% graduate placement rate and offers twenty-two programs of study. Articulation agreements between the Technical College System of Georgia, the University System of Georgia and independent colleges and universities assure seamless educational opportunities. High school students are able to take technical and general education courses to accelerate their education and save thousands of dollars in tuition. Additionally Georgia’s Hope Grant and Hope Scholarship make the already low cost of technical education even more affordable in Georgia.
The new campus is expected to be complete by summer of 2015.
Golden Isles Career Academy
The Golden Isles Career Academy (GICA) was created to build a partnership between the Glynn County School System and the regional business communities. GICA graduates provide a viable skilled workforce to businesses in a variety of occupational disciplines.
GICA is not a vocational school, although they provide hands-on career-driven learning through the Career Pathways Programs which provide learning tracks to 18 distinctive career curriculums – some of which are college preparatory focused through the Dual Enrollment Program, where students can earn college credits.
The College of Coastal Georgia
College of Coastal Georgia works hand-in-hand with community businesses and schools to provide the degree programs and workforce training designed to make Brunswick and the Golden Isles a leader in comprehensive academic quality.
Established in 1961 as a two-year community college, the College of Coastal Georgia began offering four-year baccalaureate degrees in 2009 in education, nursing, health informatics, and business administration. Since becoming a four-year institution through the University System of Georgia, the College has embarked on a transformative master plan resulting in the construction of new residence halls, academic buildings and campus amenities and has experienced a surge in student enrollment with more than 3,000 undergraduate students now enrolled.
The academic programs are fully accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Many of the programs are also accredited by the accrediting body for the discipline.
Georgia’s Quick Start Training Incentive
Workforce training in Georgia is provided through several initiatives, but the state’s signature program is Georgia Quick Start. Quick Start is a free program customized for companies in numerous industries. Quick Start has updated the skill sets of nearly 1 million employees at 6,200 companies.
Quick Start helps companies maintain a competitive advantage by preparing workers for skill sets needed tomorrow as well as today.
- A Quick Start training regimen is shaped specifically for the skills that a company is looking to develop in its employees
- Training is conducted in classrooms, mobile labs or onsite at the company
- Quick Start is provided at no charge by the Technical College System of Georgia
- The program is versatile: Quick Start has prepared workers to assemble intricate aircraft components, grow bacteria for vaccines, manufacture plastic and metal products and field inquiries from customers, by phone or online
