Dream Team
CEDT updates economic development playbook
Whoever coined the phrase “strength in numbers” must have worked in economic development.
The technical colleges and their vice presidents of economic development are first-string players in the team effort required in recruiting, retaining and training businesses. They keep the technical colleges and their training services connected with the constantly changing needs of their communities.
Since 1989, Quick Start has administered a tool to help the vice presidents maintain their competitive edge. The Certified Economic Developer Trainer (CEDT) program provides professional training, certification and networking opportunities to the vice presidents and their economic development staff members, as well as statewide Quick Start team members. Annual conferences provide CEDTs opportunities to update their skills and knowledge. The 2007 conference focused on best practices in economic and workforce development, and featured a panel of Georgia manufacturing leaders discussing their challenges in remaining competitive and workforce training’s role in meeting those challenges.
“We wanted to give the CEDTs a first-hand look at the pressures businesses currently face, to better enable them to align their services to meet those needs,” said Sandra Morris, Quick Start director of performance technology operations, who oversees the CEDT program.
Panelists for the session were: Chris Bradley of Shiroki North America, Harry Gigas of Spinner Atlanta, and Christian Hersacher of Oracal.
Shiroki’s Bradley stressed the importance of creative thinking in business. “Doing things the same way you’ve always done them is not acceptable in business anymore,” he said. “You cannot survive if you think that way.”
German telecommunications equipment manufacturer Spinner recently opened a new facility in Atlanta, choosing a U.S. location for the high-quality workforce. Spinner Atlanta President Gigas spoke about Gwinnett Technical College’s role in producing that workforce.
“I was very nervous early on about our CNC production equipment — it’s a technology that doesn’t have a lot of penetration here in the Southeast, and we didn’t know where we were going to find people that could run it,” he said. “Far and away the best source has been Gwinnett Tech, with their machining program. Nearly everybody we’ve brought in through that program has been a huge success for us.”
Quick Start, too, plays a part in Spinner’s workforce triumphs. Especially, Gigas said, when it comes to documentation. “The quality of the document Quick Start produced and the implementation of it is of such a high standard that it’s been publicized and well-received within the entire rest of our Spinner organization,” he said. “It’s a product that’s better than the manufacturer’s own documentation as far as utility for training.”
Christian Hersacher, director of manufacturing engineering for another German company, Oracal, spoke of the challenges inherent in bringing a rural workforce up to speed on international quality standards and cutting-edge technology.
“I think success is not an accident,” he said. “It’s really driven by people, by workforce and by very, very strong partners such as Savannah Technical College and Quick Start. I think we have great educational opportunities, and together we are strong.”
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