7-county service area 4th largest College in TCSG this semester based on enrollment Total Fall Semester enrollment about 6,500 on 5 campuses and 2 instructional sites

Wide variety of industry partners KIA Motors Manufacturing Georgia and related suppliers have brought about 14,000 jobs to the region. Additional continued growth at Yamaha, Grenzebach and other advanced and precision manufacturing industries. In the last five years, medical investment has included a new Piedmont Newnan Hospital and Cancer Treatment Centers of America hospital in Coweta County. Tanner Health System has added and expanded Willowbrooke, its inpatient psychiatric hospital in Carroll County.

Georgia’s Strategic Industry Workforce Development Grant provides extra tuition assistance for areas identified in the Governor’s High Demand Career Initiative. Program began in Fall of 2013 with additional programs added in Fall of 2015 and new programs set to be added in Fall of 2015, as well. After this Fall’s additional programs, the Grant will be available in 10 strategic program areas. WGTC offers 9 of these areas. (Only one not included is the Movie Production/Set Design area.)

In general, Technical Colleges offer different programs depending on local industry job demand. Strategic Industry Workforce Development Grant programs work in a similar fashion. We offer the programs where there is employer demand in our service area. You see these listed. 15 additional certificates are available in areas you see listed at the top like Healthcare, Information Technology and Welding. We are interested in adding several of the programs which will be new this fall including Precision Manufacturing, Certified Engineering Assisting and Computer Programming.

Students who are eligible for the HOPE Grant also are eligible for SIWDG. The dollars are in addition to the HOPE Grant and other financial aid the student may receive. 100 PERCENT TUITION COVERAGE

The Strategic Industries Workforce Development Grant programs were selected because of their importance to growing Georgia’s economy. These are the programs employers across the state identified as in-demand. The SIWDG helps us fulfill our mission to provide employers with a skilled workforce, and it incentivizes high demand programs. If an industry needs employees in these areas, they should contact their local technical college to get connected with graduates being produced in these areas.

SIWDG creates a unique opportunity to do targeted marketing to students interested in these high-demand fields. If the student qualifies for HOPE and SIWDG, these should provide full tuition coverage.

As a good example of one program that has seen a major impact for us, let’s look at Diesel Equipment Technology, which is offered on our Carroll Campus in Carrollton. SIWDG became available for Diesel Equipment Technology in Fall of 2014. The 3-year trend shows a 62 percent increase in students enrolled in Diesel Equipment Technology since 2013. The program is full in both day and evening classes and is space-constrained in its current location. We see high demand for graduates from our industry partners across the region including Yancey Brothers, the state’s largest Caterpillar dealer.

Another example is in the Computer Information Systems area specifically on our Douglas Campus in Douglasville. The programs in this group have seen a 39 percent increase in enrollment since SIWDG began for them in Fall 2014. We are adding a new degree program in Douglasville this fall – Computer Programming which will augment these offerings.

The Technical College System is working to provide lab renovation funding to help provide world-class labs in high-demand areas. First area of focus is the Industrial Systems Technology lab in LaGrange. This program has seen high demand because of KIA and related suppliers in the area. Also impacted will be our welding areas. We offer welding at six locations! Carroll Campus CEC Site Douglas Franklin Site Greenville Site LaGrange Campus

Southwire Center for Manufacturing Excellence On the College’s Carroll Campus. Trains current and future employees of Southwire in industrial maintenance and manufacturing. Open to other companies to also take advantage of advanced training. Laura Gammage is our Vice President of Economic Development and she is the interface for business and industry across our region to get customized corporate training in advanced manufacturing or any other area where we can assist.