THOMASVILLE- After a nine-month assessment of Thomas County’s workforce, the Georgia Partnership for Educational Excellence will release their findings at the Workforce Plan community meeting at Southern Regional Technical College on Tuesday, January 24th from 3-5 p.m. This meeting will be open to the public and other special presentations for industry and civic groups will also be held throughout the week. 

The Thomasville Community Resource Center (TCRC) partnered with Imagine Thomasville to conduct a workforce assessment and create a plan in light of significant post-pandemic education and workforce challenges. Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education was identified as the ideal research partner for their results in other rural communities. 

The Williams Family Foundation of Georgia underwrote the assessment phase of the Workforce Plan initiative after seeing the need to align diverse community stakeholders before any individual organizations can successfully address the workforce challenge. 

“It’s going to take all of us working together- not just the businesses or just the educators or just the non-profits- if we are going to make a dent in the workforce crisis,” said Alston Watt, Executive Director at the Williams Family Foundation of Georgia. “We know there is no silver bullet, but we also know progress can only be made if we have community-wide alignment in addressing the entire workforce pipeline, from cradle to career,” 

The scan found that while Thomasville and Thomas County share many of the same struggles as other rural communities, like housing, transportation, mental illness, and shortage of quality childcare, the Thomas County area also has some unique opportunities. 

“The hope of this study is to showcase the challenges and opportunities so the community can form their own plan, “Merrill Kemp-Wilcox, Director of Outreach and Engagement at the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education.

After the presentation, community members will have the opportunity to sign up for working groups, including Early Childcare, Literacy, Pipelines to Post-Secondary, Worker Barriers, Communication and Relationship Building. Working Groups will work with a facilitator to compile assets and challenges then identify goals, strategies, and responsible parties for accomplishing goals. 

While business leaders will chair the working groups and individual organizations will be responsible for completing the goals and strategies, Imagine Thomasville will be responsible for communicating, monitoring, and updating the plan once it is complete, according to Andrea Collins, Executive Director at the Thomasville-Thomas County Chamber of Commerce. 

“Imagine Thomasville has staffed up and we are planning our organization’s operations around this initiative. We want our businesses to be able to focus on the work they do, but they can’t do that when they are spinning their wheels trying to find workers,” Collins said. 

“As a connector of businesses, Chambers of Commerce nationwide are leaning in to connect the businesses to the available resources to address the workforce crisis. In many communities, it is the businesses that are investing in strengthening those resources,” she continued.  

The findings compile data from multiple state and national indices, along with interviews and focus groups of over 100 local stakeholders. For instance, the scan reveals the disparity in the available slots in quality-rated child care centers and the number of Thomas County residents between the ages of zero and four. This can be a significant barrier for parents in the workforce. 

The childcare situation is particularly alarming when you look outside the city limits and see that there is only one quality-rated care center in the outlying communities in our county.  “Our strategic focus is to keep our rates affordable for families. Eventually we will have all of our classrooms “quality-rated”.  This will ensure families with Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) Scholarships continue to have a safe and nurturing environment, while still providing a stimulating learning experience for their children. In addition, TCRC has increased the pay scale for employees to achieve equitable compensation. We realize TCRC and the childcare industry cannot accomplish this goal alone.  We need community collaboration”.

Community members, as well as organizational leaders, are encouraged to attend the presentation on January 24th and help craft the final community action plan. For more information on the Workforce Plan or details on arranging a presentation for your organization, please contact info@imaginethomasville.com.