ATLANTA, Ga. – Gov. Brian Kemp rolled out a brand new program Thursday aimed toward making post-secondary schooling extra accessible to college students throughout the state whereas rising Georgia’s desperately wanted vocational workforce.
The Georgia Match program will use senior’s eleventh grade Hope GPA to position them in one of many state’s technical establishments, schools, or universities. All they must do is apply, and so they’ll get into at the least one.
“It’s all about giving alternative, particularly to the folks, the scholars and the households, which might be on the market now that should not have increased schooling on their thoughts. They’re in all probability pondering, I don’t even have this chance,” mentioned Kemp at his inaugural workforce summit in Atlanta on Thursday. “The aim is to achieve these college students, to achieve these households, and guarantee that they know that we’ve a spot for them, they will do that.”
Letters from the governor’s workplace will probably be despatched out this week to the state’s 120,000 highschool seniors with detailed directions on tips on how to apply for assured admission. The state can also be waiving software charges.
“This isn’t spam,” mentioned Kemp, “That is your ticket to financial prosperity within the state of Georgia and we’re simply extraordinarily enthusiastic about it.”
Vocational jobs are in particularly excessive demand within the rising metro Atlanta space. With a heavy want for automotive, electrical, and HVAC staff, the aim of the brand new program is to permit simpler entry to Georgia’s multitude of technical establishments.
“We’re speaking about careers proper right here within the metro Atlanta space; you can also make a terrific livable wage with no scholar mortgage debt,” mentioned Dr. Tashara Wilson, principal at Atlanta School and Profession Academy.
Day by day, her college studentsare coaching for a similar form of in-demand jobs that require much less time within the classroom and a sooner path to the workforce in careers like dentistry, culinary arts, automotive, aviation, electrical, HVAC, and extra.
“For each one which goes to high school and earns a doctoral diploma, employers really want two people with bachelor’s levels, however they really want seven people with technical certificates,” she mentioned.
“Quite a lot of these children and these households simply don’t perceive the alternatives that they’ve,” mentioned Kemp. “And this entire program is designed to ensure they find out about these alternatives.”
