today on great Georgia job tapping into
technology careers from robotics to
cybersecurity the Peach State is quickly
becoming the Silicon Valley of the south
and WorkSource Georgia is at the center
of it all from Georgia's coastline to
the Blue Ridge Mountains and many points
in between
today Georgia is the hottest job starter
in the nation creating high-paying jobs
and in-demand careers so what are the
keys to the future your future to
learning frontline technology for a new
career today
this is your roadmap to fast-track
education and this is your path to great
Georgia jobs welcome to great Georgia
jobs I'm consumer investigator Dale
Cardwell this show is your how-to guide
for career success in Georgia and
Georgia is proving to be one of the
hottest job markets in the nation in
part because of its deep pool of skilled
talent especially in the field of
high-tech mechanics that's why I'm here
at the Georgia vocational rehabilitation
center in Warm Springs where Georgians
with special needs are becoming
proficient in robotic programing and
maintenance this just took me only like
one day maro Richardson is not one to
brag about his technical skills but with
less than a year of training it's
obvious he's got this wired the machine
is tracing the shapes that I had
programmed onto it the machine EES
programming is a fanuc industrial robot
the type of automation equipment used in
manufacturing plants throughout the
state and around the globe although
merrill makes it look easy don't be
mistaken not just anyone can do this
manufacturing in general just most
skilled trades does take a special
talent
Billy Garrett is the robotics and CNC
computer numerical control programming
instructor at the vocational
rehabilitation center in Warm Springs
he says it's impressive to see students
many who have cognitive and physical
challenges grasp this technology so
quickly when students come in
everybody's a little bit of apprehensive
about you know what they're getting into
but when you see them leave
you know they got a great amount of
confidence because they learned
something that most population can't do
robots like these have broad benefits
felt throughout our modern economy these
machines are essential for streamlining
today's manufacturing assembly and
industrial systems having skilled talent
who know how to program them is critical
to maintain efficient production just
keep repeating that cycle to all the
pretty cool
twenty-one-year-old Brent MA she is also
learning fanuc program despite having
both hearing and speech impairments
neither are barriers to his success
there's a way to overcome a BA Brady
testing joy inside lyric but what you
get used here they've become pretty easy
and having an education campus dedicated
to helping young adults overcome their
learning obstacles makes it even easier
once a resort town home to the famed
healing Warm Springs frequented by
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for
polio treatment the facility was
transformed to provide free vocational
rehabilitation opportunities to empower
Georgians with disabilities Roosevelt
Warm Springs is the best kept secret
when it comes to transition
opportunities for young adults leaving
high school and wanting to enter not
only the workforce but become as
independent as they can be dr. Lee
Brinkley Bryan is the director of
transition services at the Roosevelt
Warm Springs facility
she says the comprehensive vocational
academic and life skills training
coupled with an abundance of emotional
support gives students the confidence to
fulfill career and personal goals even
after 90 years we're still providing
rehabilitation services and hoping that
what we do here makes a lifelong change
for an individual not only and what
they're able to do but how they feel
about themselves and that's why brent is
encouraging other young adults to seize
this opportunity as he has what do you
say here first law it will become easier
once you have a
a good teacher then who can help you you
two can get wired into a robotics career
find out how by visiting great Georgia
jobs.com just ahead on great Georgia
jobs see how these Georgians are getting
wired into technology careers through
their local workforce Georgia office and
later meet a South Georgia entrepreneur
who is connecting his rural community
with high-speed Internet that's next on
great Georgia jobs the Technical College
System of Georgia who is twenty two
colleges eighty five campuses hundreds
of workforce training programs to choose
from a quality higher education is
affordable with T CST cost is not an
obstacle take the hope career grant it
covers 100% of tuition for students
pursuing a career in any one of 17 high
demand fields
tea CST meaningful careers start here
apply now visit apply tcsg.edu welcome
back to great georgia jobs with
thousands of unfilled positions in some
of Georgia's fastest growing industries
there's never been a better time for
jobseekers to polish their skills obtain
training and position themselves to step
into their next career opportunity
WorkSource Georgia is the state's
federally funded employment and training
system
the missions simple to connect talent
with opportunity managed by the office
of Workforce Development the federal
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
provides funds to help Georgia
jobseekers experience sustainability and
success in today's workforce with 19
local offices throughout the state
WorkSource georgia deploys customized
training programs and services to
jobseekers of all backgrounds whether
you've been recently laid off seeking to
switch gears in your career or desire to
transition to a new industry there's
likely a WorkSource program or resource
that can help overcome your barriers to
employment by taking the first step in
connecting with your local work source
office visit WorkSource georgia.com
to get started since technology is one
of the fastest growing industries in the
state WorkSource Cobb is creating
opportunities to sink Georgians into the
high demand digital career network the
only prereqs
are disciplined and drive work source
Georgia's Shamika Johnson's at the
WorkSource Cobb Career Center to explain
Dale many corporations rely on
technology to meet their bottom line and
since Georgia is home to several Fortune
500 companies
the need protects savvy talent is at
full tilt
little to you at the Northbridge
Christina Hubbard has a flair for fixing
things which in an innate knowledge of
IT were so cnz but despite being plugged
into the industry for almost a decade
there was a disconnect between her
experience and her potential I was
landing these great jobs at top
companies IBM NCR but I didn't have the
paper to back it up she researched
several networks support education
programs but found most were expensive
and required a significant commute
making it almost impossible to attend
especially for a single mom a lot of the
programs that I did research were
charging about $1,000 $2,000 and then
you had to go really far out but within
her network of friends she heard about
an opportunity in her own community a
free computer training and certification
course offered by WorkSource Cobb
every ninja is an instructor for the 16
week course that's offered to anyone
looking to reboot their career we really
look for having a strong curiosity and a
strong interest in how technology works
Brandon nettles had a basic framework
for technological repairs but the
practical hands-on instruction enabled
him to expand his expertise get
certified and prepare him to land a
well-paying job it's a life changer
because you're able to get into the IT
field and you need to A+ they're
basically started so getting through
this field I'll be able to make more
money and be able to really do all the
things that I want to do graduates of
the course can go on to a career as a
network analyst system administrator or
a help desk technician positions that
pay very well and are also in high
demand schools are not turning out
enough computer science grads not
turning out enough people with the
hands-on technical know-how and we give
them that and in a very rapid pace the
program also provides ongoing career
support by connecting students with
recruiters
from some of the largest companies in
Georgia at the goodwill Career Center in
Smyrna students are learning software
design developing skills associated with
sales force administration and creation
of websites
it's called tech bridge the best way I
can describe this program is a
collaboration of people coming together
to not only teach technical
certification skills that are going to
be useful in the local and national
economy but also to provide soft skills
and job readiness training that's just
as essential and job readiness is
equally as important to ensure career
success and a universally they tell us
we need people who to show up on time
every day ready to work so we really
focus on employability skills some
people call them soft skills or
essential skills so that they know what
their career pathway is going to look
like and how they're going to fit into
that industry and that particular
employer funded by WorkSource Cobb this
spree 16 week course is geared toward
young adults interested in entering a
career in Georgia's growing technology
industry Ariella can you take a look at
this for me Ginny Taylor is the vice
president at Goodwill of North Georgia
she says Tech bridge serves as a
pipeline to connect Georgians with
Fortune 500 companies were really able
to connect the local residents who need
these skills who want these jobs with
the employers who are hiring them the
process was pretty easy the job
interviews were just presented to us and
we would just show up Alexander Hilton
completed the program and is now a paid
intern for Coca Cola's web development
team and while the tech bridge training
didn't cost him any money
he says the connections he made are
priceless so even after the program was
over we still have our success coach and
for me I was lucky enough to have my
success coach where I worked in and with
Georgia being a hub for high tech jobs
is a field of endless opportunities
plugging into a career in technology
could begin right here at your local
work source Georgia office
there are 19 service areas that touch
each part of the state making
easy and convenient to make an
appointment or walk in to receive the
assistance you need to get plugged into
your next career opportunity good
morning from the moment you walk in the
customer service representatives will
guide you through the registration
process like a library card you'll
receive your own personal computer login
that allows you to access job boards
training opportunities and certification
classes for some the next step is
meeting with a one-stop Career
specialist who will evaluate your
current level of experience help you
identify a career path and overcome your
personal barriers to employment the next
step is determining your eligibility
assessing your skills and assisting with
Career Planning and training decisions
all of these steps are intended to help
you overcome your personal barriers to
employment and most importantly get you
working all of our training programs
assist our clients in becoming more
self-sufficient and helping to enhance
the skills that they already have we are
work source Georgia connecting talent
with opportunity coming up making a
living in a virtual world see what it
takes to level up for a career in
Georgia's video game industry but first
it's time for workforce trivia what is
the average annual income for a video
game designer and coder
in Georgia is it a $32,000 B $54,000 C
seventy eight thousand dollars or D
ninety six thousand dollars find out in
just a minute right here on great
Georgia jobs
[Music]
business in Georgia has never been
better and companies throughout the
state need skilled workers like you to
take their business to the next level
whether you're just entering the
workforce or have reached a turning
point in your career WorkSource Georgia
can help place you on a fast-track
toward success you have the talent let
us connect you with the opportunity we
are WorkSource Georgia
[Music]
[Applause]
welcome back to great Georgia jobs so do
you have a guest for today's work source
trivia here's the question what's the
average annual salary of a digital game
designer encoder here in Georgia
is that a $32,000 B $54,000 C $78,000 or
D $96,000 the average annual income for
a digital game designer is around ninety
six thousand dollars Wow
I missed my calling but it's not too
late for you because gamers and the
gaming industry certainly have Georgia
on their minds our state's becoming a
design hub for digital entertainment and
the demand for creative coders is
triggering a nexus of career
opportunities on the battleground of the
gods conquering kingdoms is all fun and
games but in reality creating this
virtual interactive world is serious
business take an arbitrary number to do
it here at the Alpharetta headquarters
of hi-rez Studios creators of the online
animated game smite are preparing to
roll out their next feature Savannah
teems is a feature producer at hi-rez
studios as a team growing up in hell in
Georgia her hobby was playing video
games video games was my jam and I
remember my very last semester of high
school I was like video games it all
makes sense
somebody has to create these so I'm
gonna find the path to get there after
graduating from college with a degree in
computer game design and development
she took a receptionist position at high
res that was four years ago
I feel like I've been able to get where
I wanted to go quicker because I was
more willing to take a position that I
didn't necessarily see myself in long
term but because that's where they
needed me at the time it was a smart
decision because the appetite for
interactive online games is insatiable
when you look at the industry charts and
just see where gaming has gone it's now
bigger than the movie industry in the
music industry I'm sure there's an upper
bound but we haven't found it yet at an
industry level Stewart Chisholm is the
CEO of high residue
adios he says in Georgia alone the
gaming industry generates nearly a
billion dollars a year because of the
high demand this studio and the nearly
400 others in the state are always
searching for a wide scope of innovative
talent to craft the games the biggest
requirement for people is that they have
a high level of passion around what we
do and obviously the right educational
background anything in the steam
community so science technology
engineering arts and math is really a
candidate to be employed here Alexandre
Greenstein is a programmer for smight he
studied computer science in school our
goal as programmers is trying to figure
out all those little logical steps
because you're manipulating characters
basically in a physical world so just
like you would do physical calculations
and in your physics course or whatever a
lot of those were doing here using
linear algebra and 3d math but
Alexander's biggest advantage was his
love of the game prior to programming he
was a professional player when he
retired from the eSports arena he came
to work for high-res I definitely want
to continue creating games and as long
as I can continue that trajectory my
plan is to push that from whatever
higher capability that I'm able to do
that even if you don't have a science
background there are plenty of career
opportunities for any Georgian who's got
game we have people here they do testing
so yes they do get paid to just play
video games all day and find bugs with
them we have people that have to do the
marketing and the finance and all of
these areas that you need for any
company to thrive and it's a thriving
industry with endless leveling up
opportunities for both the Georgia's
economy and its workforce employment
wise it said that the industry created
around 15,000 jobs so it's a big deal
and there's lots of people here who feed
their families through making great
video games which is a pretty cool way
to do it what to know how to press start
on your coding career in the
entertainment and gaming industry find
out how by visiting great Georgia
jobs.com just ahead where are they now
we're catching up with some of work
source Georgia's greatest success
stories from last season I'm able to
care for my daughters and how
them to achieve their dreams that's next
on great Georgia job
[Music]
[Applause]
welcome back to great Georgia jobs I'm
consumer investigator Dale Cardwell last
season we introduced you to Yoshika
Harrison
she's a telecommunications specialist
with Clayton counties local government
in just two short years she's been
promoted to a positions she says she was
born to do this is a step up Yoshika
Harrison will tell you straight up the
best part of her job is being away from
the office I am not behind a desk all
day I'm outside and we get to go to the
various buildings while we put the
cameras up and so that part is a lot of
fun no longer in telecommunications but
still with Clayton County a promotion
has placed Jessica in a role she's
relishing I am now a network
infrastructure so I am identity and
access management so we handle all the
access cars if we make sure they have
their proper accesses and this job is
given her access to opportunities to
further her education and career in
technology I just graduated from Clayton
State with technology management
bachelor's degree I want to get enrolled
at Georgia Tech in their master's
program for cyber security it wasn't
that long ago that you sheikah like so
many Georgians was laid off and
searching for a new path she entered a
two-year technology information program
at Atlanta Technical College funded by
work source Georgia's federal grant W I
owe a Yoshika says if she can do it
anyone can there's something for
everybody they help you financially to
get all of that squared away so that you
can propel forward with your goals in
life and that's exactly what your
sheikah plans to do as well now that's a
great Georgia job a lot of folks these
days take lives modern conveniences like
high-speed Internet for granted but some
Georgia counties are still struggling to
make a reliable connection joining me
now is work source correspondent Marni's
Amory to explain Dale there's a
tremendous digital divide between metro
Atlanta and Georgia's 124 rural counties
but in
South Georgia farming community a small
business owner is bridging that gap by
providing high-speed Internet access to
thousands of jobseekers these two fibers
come in they bring all the bandwidth in
for our whole company and for everything
we're feeding in cordial in Crystal
County at this time great Curtin is the
Thomas Edison of crisp County though
he's not an inventor he and his southern
fiberwerx business partner David her
Levitch are blazing a fiber-optic trail
through the rural South Georgia town of
Coeur D Alene necessity is the mother of
invention so it's apt that being a
father led to his big idea we had very
slow internet at my house and my
children would come in at night and ask
me daddy would you get off the internet
so I can get on and I thought we need to
have better internet in the rural area
of Chris County so he started laying
fiber optic lines in his own
neighborhood but in small towns word
travels fast and it wasn't long before
the city's largest businesses came
calling
we had the hospital they called in
united forestry products called and in
nor board code and those are some of the
larger employers in cordials so we're
making a big difference and the
difference is being noticed well beyond
Georgia other rural communities across
the nation are asking for his expertise
with expanding their own broadband
capabilities I've met with people from
Texas I met with people from Alabama
come and spend the day with me to show
them how do you do this in the South
Georgia town and Greg is optimistic that
his enterprise will encourage residents
to stay and contribute to their hometown
economies people like Justin Smith he
was raised in Cordele and was attending
South Georgia Technical College when he
was recruited by Southern fiberwerx this
is where I grew up so it's special to me
that I get to work with something that's
you know advancing while staying my home
small hometown and you know in providing
career opportunities to his neighbors in
crisp County makes this visit
venture even sweeter for great there's
always gonna be a need for technicians
to splice to put in the cable and to run
the cables to the houses and businesses
so it is a future-proof career the US
Department of Agriculture has committed
millions of dollars to delivering a
connectivity to rural communities making
careers in telecommunications in demand
and by definition a great Georgia job
thanks Marty still to come
cyber security learn how to make a great
living by keeping the nation's digital
and military networks safe see how you
can secure your own position that's next
on great Georgia job welcome to South
Georgia Technical College where we make
it happen whether your dream is to
become a welder a nurse a restaurant
owner electrician or aircraft mechanic
South Georgia Technical College can help
you make it happen
Sgt C has over 200 associate degree
diploma and technical certificate of
credit programs of study available visit
our website at South GA tech dot edu for
more information or to apply or call 892
eight oh two eight three so what are you
waiting for let's make it happen
[Music]
[Applause]
welcome back to great Georgia jobs
government agencies and private
industries rely on cyber intelligence to
secure our country's digital networks in
Augusta Georgia the US Army a State
University and a local Technical College
have joined forces to teach Georgians
how to safeguard the nation's
infrastructure and economic interests
against cyber threats from finance and
filmmaking to travel and technology
Georgia's largest industries rely on
cybersecurity the industry is exploding
everybody realizes just how vulnerable
we are we serve business and industry
and those businesses are realizing the
need to increase security and cancer
that's exactly what we teach our
students who have to do one of those
star students is Jared Z s key
technology has always come easy to him
but not everything is so effortless his
biggest hurdle has nothing to do with
his skill jared is legally blind and a
person with albinism throughout my
childhood it was a lot of bullying when
it comes to it there's something
different about me it's very apparent so
people would pick up on that and
immediately pick on it you know but that
never stopped Jared he's now on a path
to a career in cyber networking thanks
to August attack cyber Institute I do
feel like I've been more challenged but
I try to not let that affect my outlook
on things he's incredibly smart he's
gonna go a long way he's gonna be one of
our star students that will graduate and
have his pick of jobs more good news for
Jared's career path is the pay not only
do you have unfilled jobs but we have
unfilled jobs that pay well there's
estimated to be more than 10,000 cyber
security job openings in Georgia to keep
up with growing workforce demand the
state started the sprawling Georgia
cyber center three years ago it's an
ambitious collaboration between Augusta
State University Augusta Technical
College the Georgia Department of
Defense state and federal partners as
well as private companies we are trying
to make this a one-stop shop to where we
can
take a student get them excited about
cyber security educational programs but
they can also intern with some of our
industry partners that we have in the
building for the center the key to being
at the forefront is keeping up with new
technology and new threats as long as
we're in technology it's going to
continue to be a constant changing
threat so it's our job to teach the most
current in the most responsible way to
react to these threats I look forward to
actually landing the career I want and
pursuing my passion of computer
networking there's so much inspiration
and information you can take away from
today's success stories you can plot
your own path to success by visiting
great Georgia jobs.com
there you'll find works horse Georgia
Career Center locations resources for
jobseekers and links to all the stories
you've watched here today thank you so
much for watching we'll see you next
time right here on great Georgia jobs
[Music]