Go Build Georgia: one way to get a high-paying job
WJCL
By Nick Paradise
Tuesday, Jan. 17
Finding a job these days isn’t the easiest task–though Georgia’s most recent unemployment rate measured at nine percent, it was only four months ago that unemployment hit 10.2 percent.
At the same time, the state faces a labor shortage in some high-paying trade industries. To combat that, Governor Nathan Deal unveiled his “Go Build Georgia” campaign. The campaign is aimed at reversing the mindset that trade industry jobs like welding, plumbing and carpentry are undesirable. Instead www.GoBuildGeorgia.com promotes the profitability of those jobs.
Step into Savannah Tech’s welding class and you hear the sound of building. Not just materials: careers.
Emily Fitzgerald was drawn by more than the hands-on learning.
“I toured the facility and it just had such an impact on me [that] I had to do this,” Fitzgerald said. “There’s such a demand for welders right now there’s no reason why I shouldn’t do it.”
“We cannot graduate students fast enough to get into industry,” said her instructor, Bill Burns.
Places like Gulfstream, JCB and Mitsubishi need these skilled laborers.
Good luck finding them.
“The average age of a welder is 60, 65 years old,” Burns said. “They’re retiring. We need new welders, [to] train new welders to take their places.”
Savannah Tech’s welding program will train students to match the requirements of businesses in the area. The program’s become so popular that enrollment went from in the twenties to 57 this semester.
Still,not enough people choose this field or other trade industries.
That’s where “Go Build Georgia” hopes to come in; spotlighting how easy it is to land a high-paying job with just a few semesters of schooling.
Ask a student about to graduate how his job search is going.
“I already have a job, I hooked up with the local 709 Ironworkers out in Pooler,” Alain Nietu said. “It’s pretty good to have a job before I even graduate.”
If you put in the work, the jobs are there.
Savannah Tech’s welding program will soon expand to Effingham County. The college is also breaking ground on an aviation training facility later this month.
They also offer many other trades promoted by “Go Build Georgia.”