First Lady Jill Biden toured copper recycler Aurubis in a Wednesday visit to Augusta. But the industry’s commitment to support 200 jobs is just one aspect of the designation of Augusta as a Workforce Hub.
With the Biden Administration’s designation comes the promise of billions in investment and thousands of jobs to Georgia and metro Augusta, according to a news release. The development shows how Bidenomics – the president’s “vision for growing the economy from the middle out and bottom up” – is creating career opportunities, it said. They include:
Registered apprenticeships and employer investments in workforce pipelines.
Georgia has seen over $37 billion in private battery and electric vehicle supply chain facilities, clean energy, semiconductors and electronics, which are creating over 27,000 new jobs in Georgia.
To meet this demand, Mayor Garnett Johnson and the Augusta Workforce Hub’s three anchor institutions, Augusta Technical College, Aiken Technical College and Richmond County schools, have formed and deepened partnerships, according to the release.
Five major regional employers are committing to actions that will develop the workforce.
- Solvay is investing $1 million to support local workforce development, such as creating a mobile learning unit. Solvay received a $178 million Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grant from the Department of Energy to build a battery manufacturing plant.
- Aurubis is signing a community benefit agreement with the three anchor institutions to invest more than $200,000 in scholarship and job training programs and launch the first U.S. chapter of Women4Metals.
- Manus is developing a robust biomanufacturing workforce by partnering with Augusta Technical College and Richmond County schools to create and expand programming for process engineering, operations, maintenance and construction.
- Savannah River Site will double the size of its youth apprenticeship program in the next year and expand its girls engineering program by 25%. SRS is developing a consortium with the Augusta Building and Trades Council and area K-12 schools to expand nuclear career opportunities by fall 2024.
- Kubota will use paid internships and partnerships with high schools and colleges for certificate, degree, diploma and adult education programs, including to create a cyber-resilient workforce to secure its advanced manufacturing systems
- Battelle Savannah River Alliance, which operates Savannah River National Laboratory, is investing $125,000 to create K-12 Catalyst STEM Grants to advance programs and activities related to STEM education
In addition, major regional training providers are expanding programs for skill development in clean energy manufacturing, nuclear energy, construction, cyber and key next-generation technologies for advanced manufacturing:
- Augusta Technical College is announcing two new U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship programs. One is with SRS for nuclear technician degrees and one is with the United Association Local 150 Plumbers and Steamfitters. Each has a goal of supporting 20-30 students at launch and to reach 100 apprenticeships in three years.
- Augusta Tech is expanding its partnership with the Augusta District Attorney’s Office and Richmond County Correctional Facility to provide skilled trades training for 36 incarcerated individuals over the next year and broaden training for soon-to-be released individuals.
- Augusta Tech and Aiken Technical College have formalized a memorandum of understanding with the building and trades council which outlines shared objectives including union representation, up-skilling and re-skilling programs for union members and creating pathways for entry into union apprenticeship programs.
- Richmond County Schools will sign an MOU with the building and trades council to co-develop a pre-apprenticeship program to serve an estimated 30 students per year with direct or preferential entry to apprenticeship programs as well as wraparound student support services.
- Augusta University will leverage a $1 million Regional Innovation Engines Development award from the National Science Foundation to catalyze local academic and industry partnerships around a growing regional cyber workforce.
A wide array of regional stakeholders will collaborate to address systemic workforce barriers.
- Grounded.org’s TradesForce campaign will boost workforce recruitment and training for clean energy trades in a collaboration with Social Good Club to unite influencers, industry and labor partners to promote clean energy trades.
- Augusta Transit is announcing a $300,000 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investment to study the use of microtransit to increase access to jobs at manufacturing and training sites.
- Lyft announced a partnership with the mayor’s office, the CSRA Community Foundation and Indeed to provide rides to and from clean energy and manufacturing jobs coming to Augusta.
Susan McCord is a staff writer with The Augusta Press. Reach her at susan@theaugustapress.com
