Manufacturing Lab at South Forsyth High a Pilot for Georgia

The Forsyth County Board of Education approved funding for a teaching facility that will serve as a pilot for the Georgia Department of Education's effort to address the "skills gap."

In America, the acute lack of skilled production workers, technologists, scientists, engineers, etc. is a result of the shift to a service economy in the 1990s, according to a presentation made at one of the board's August meetings and published on its website. Georgia business leaders regularly cite the skills gap as one of their biggest challenges.

Part of the state's Global Workforce Initiative, Siemens, an electronics and electrical engineering company with a plant in nearby Alpharetta, will educate this year 51 students at a manufacturing lab at South Forsyth High School. The instructor was trained by Siemens, which also provided $500,000 in training materials.

A 2012 mandate, the Global Workforce Initiative requires the state Board of Education "to promote job growth from international businesses with existing Georgia operations by building public-private partnerships based upon its published vision of defined educational pathways, which included training in foreign language, culture awareness and sought-after business and technical skills," according to Forsyth County Schools' Workforce Development.

Siemens, one of a number of international companies with facilities in Forsyth County, will benefit from a custom talent pool, reduced training costs and greater influence in the community. Its Manufacturing Pathway pilot program at South Forsyth High will benefit the county by helping to provide jobs and opportunities to recruit other businesses to the community, according to the system.

The state expects standard teaching curricula, built by real-world experts, to result from the pilot program, which it would then make available throughout Georgia.

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