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“The economy was changing, and we were redefining our job descriptions to fit the changing needs of our local communities,” he recalls. For most of the history of technical education in Georgia, there had been staff members whose job was to help foster relationships with local business and industry. But with most technical schools around the state operating independently, there wasn’t one shared job title. But then
in 1990, after the Department of Technical and Adult Education had been
created to bring all the state’s technical schools together, the
various coordinators, managers and liaisons became designated vice presidents
of economic development, with one at every technical college in the
state. At the same time, Georgia’s unique Certified Economic Developer
Trainer (CEDT) program was started in order to add a new level of professionalism
to the technical colleges’ economic development initiatives (see
Competitive Edge).
“We listen to our customers and do our best to deliver what they want,” says Jep Craig, Heart of Georgia Technical College VP of economic development. “For example, in the past Laurens County has been heavily involved in textile manufacturing. But that’s changing, and as a community we have to re-engineer our thinking about how we do business. Our access to Interstate 16 and closeness to the Atlanta airport are key ingredients to our success in recruiting distribution centers like Best Buy and Fred’s.”
“Every company has a different personality,” says Russ Vandiver, “and getting to know them helps me provide better service.” The VPs keep up with business trends by carefully cultivating relationships and staying involved in their communities. They evaluate what they hear, work with college colleagues and Georgia Quick Start to devise training to fill the need, and present solutions to companies. In Columbus, for example, Nancy Coleman, Columbus Technical College VP of economic development, says she has been hearing about a need for more professional employees. “We’re getting a tremendous amount of feedback from businesses and industries that employee communication skills, work ethics and self-management need work,” says Coleman. “It’s a need across the board in our current labor force. So we put communication skills training into all of our certificate programs.” “I became a member of the Griffin Development Authority because of my position with the Chamber,” says Brown. “I have a close relationship with the Development Authority and any time they get a worthwhile business or industry prospect coming into Spalding County, they invite Griffin Tech to the table.” To be effective in her job, Carol Matthews, Moultrie Technical College VP of economic development, says she has to remain flexible and innovative. She cites as an example a company that needed training. “They were looking elsewhere for the training, and I told them I’d make it happen at Moultrie Tech, even though there were challenges. But, in the end, we made it happen.”
With the need for such technical training increasing steadily, the role of the VP of economic development is even more critical to linking technical training with the needs of business and industry. “Jobs
now require much more computer and technical knowledge,” says
Pete McDonald, Coosa Valley Technical College VP of economic development.
“The need for technical education is only going to get greater.”
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TABLE
OF CONTENTS | COVER |
FROM THE COMMISSIONER | TECH
TALK |
hen
Russell Vandiver first started working at Lanier Technical College in
the late 1970s, he found himself right in the middle of an evolving
concept. 
Today,
the vice presidents of economic development form a statewide network
of well-connected, influential businessmen and women working toward
a common goal: building workforce development. How they go about it
depends on their community, business climate and their unique styles.
But one thing ties them all together — a commitment to providing
customized training to help business stay competitive and succeed in
today’s marketplace.
The
VPs of economic development keep in close touch with community and business
leaders in order to guarantee the flexibility and customer responsiveness
of the technical colleges’ training services.
Wayne
Brown, Griffin Technical College VP of economic development, says he
builds relationships by visiting with businesses and industries in his
service delivery area and by serving on various boards — and it
pays off. Presently, Brown is chairman of the Griffin-Spalding Chamber
of Commerce.
Every
year, Georgia’s technical colleges provide customized training
to thousands of employees at hundreds of different businesses, all training
that is managed by the VPs of economic development. Recent research
has shown that in the near future, only about 24% of new jobs will require
a 4-year college degree. The vast majority of the rest of the new jobs
will require specialized technical training.
