Workforce woes front and center in Cobb legislative summit

Chart Riggall, Marietta Daily Journal, Ga.
Updated ·3 min read

Dec. 8—CUMBERLAND — Some of Cobb County's largest employers told lawmakers this week that more than two years on from the pandemic, they've still got a workforce problem.

That was one of the main themes at last week's meeting of the Cobb Legislative Delegation. At the last delegation meeting of 2022, lawmakers heard from key county leaders in government and business ahead of the start of the legislative session in January.

From education, to the military, to small businesses, the labor squeeze is still on. The sentiment was an echo of last year's legislative summit, where major employers such as Wellstar said they were sitting on thousands of vacant positions while the pandemic raged.

The Cobb County School District, the county's largest employer, continues to struggle with basic frontline workers such as bus drivers.

"We desperately need bus drivers still. We have obviously upped the pay, which had a drastic impact, but we are still over 100 bus drivers short," Superintendent Chris Ragsdale told lawmakers.

In August, the district raised wages for drivers to a minimum of $25 per hour.

"Because we have so many students ride the bus, the schools that have the most ridership are greatest impacted by the shortage of drivers, because they have more students riding the bus," Ragsdale added.

Ron Newcomb, the president of Chattahoochee Technical College, said workforce development remains the "primary mission" of the school he presides over. But, he added, the requests keep coming in faster than they can get students out.

"I'm a political science major ... and there's a role for some of the things I studied at UGA. But I have not gotten calls recently, as the president of Chatt Tech, saying I need somebody who can talk to me about Aristotle's view of the best regime," Newcomb said. "I'm getting workforce calls."

Even the Georgia National Guard is running into problems attracting men and women fit for service, said Joe Ferrero, Deputy Adjutant General of the Georgia Department of Defense.

"Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting," Ferrero recited. "(Only) 27% of kids who come out of high school in the country are eligible to join the military, between academic problems, health problems, and drug use. So we really do need your help."

Institutions like Chattahoochee Tech have tried to expand their programs, partnering with Kennesaw State University and local school districts to get Cobb residents into good paying, skilled jobs. But the demand keeps growing.

"Our concern is, the awareness, the affordability, and the opportunities in specific programs. We are concerned about criminal justice enrollment in the future, education enrollment in the future, even as we've addressed things like nursing shortages together as institutions," said Jason Tanner, Chattahoochee Tech's executive vice president for instruction. "We're trying to be forward thinking about those places where we're always going to have the demand."

Cobb Chamber CEO Sharon Mason pointed to Chattahoochee Tech's recently opened VECTR Center, which offers career training and transition services to veterans, as the kind of project that can build back a workforce long-term. The General Assembly provided $2.25 million to get the center over the finish line.

"Remember, that was years in the making, starting in 2019. For our delegation members — such a great example of this delegation working together to really drive a very innovative solution for workforce that also meets the needs of our veterans as well," Mason said.