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Description
On March 22, 2016, the Regional Workforce Summit was held at The Legend’s Club in Augusta Georgia. The summit was built on the 2015 regional workforce study commissioned by the SRSCRO. The study found that some 37,000 job openings with existing companies are expected between 2014 and 2019 in the five-county Georgia and South Carolina region. More than three-fourths of the job openings are identified as replacements for current workers due mostly to retirements. The day-long meeting included three panel discussions that addressed long-term regional workforce needs. Former U.S. Education Secretary, William Bennett, also spoke at the event.
The SRS Community Reuse Organization and four area economic development groups – the Augusta Economic Development Authority and the Development Authority of Columbia County in Georgia and the Economic Development Partnership and SouthernCarolina Alliance in South Carolina – sponsored the summit for invited guests including industry CEOs, school board members and superintendents, and local government officials.
A
Well,
welcome
to
aiken
business
matters.
This
is
an
outdoor
event
today,
for
you
at
least
part
of
it.
I
want
to
introduce
to
you
my
special
guest
today,
Mindy
mix
she's
with
the
nuclear
workforce
initiative
with
the
she's.
The
program
manager
with
the
srs
community
reuse
organization.
Is
that
right
that.
A
You
Mandy,
we
want
to
introduce
something
to
you
today,
that
is
I,
think
going
to
be
not
only
educational
but
also
very
interesting
from
many
many
standpoint,
not
only
from
those
of
you
who
have
lived
in
Aiken
for
a
long
time,
but
those
of
you
who
have
children
and
grandchildren
just
to
see
what
the
workforce
is
going
to
be
like
in
the
future
as
it
relates
to
nuclear
energy
and
the
industry
as
a
whole.
So
we
want
to
show
you
a
video
today
that
was
compiled
some
time
ago.
A
B
So
on
this
video
you're
going
to
hear
directly
from
them
talking
about
the
things
that
they're
concerned
about
in
terms
of
workforce
for
the
future,
because,
as
you
know,
we
have
a
lot
of
retirements
that
are
happening
not
just
in
this
community
but
across
the
nation
and
as
a
result,
we
have
a
whole
new
generation
of
workers
coming
in.
But
we
also
have
a
whole
new
generation
of
skills
that
are
needed.
B
A
B
And
I
think
you'll
stick
around
on
the
video
and
also
hear
from
mr.
bill
bennett,
who
is
a
former
Secretary
of
Education,
and
he
will
share
some
information.
He
was
there
at
this
summit
and
he'll
share
information
that
he
observed
about
our
community
as
well
as
what's
happening
in
education
in
America.
Today,
yeah.
B
C
I've
been
with
the
company
20
years
now
so
I
understand
what
we're
facing
and
one
of
the
things
that
is
hard
for
industry
and
manufacturing
with
that
workforce.
That's
coming
out.
That
is
our
best,
so
for
us,
we've
had
to
look
at
different
ways
to
replace
that
workforce
in
as
technology
has
grown.
We
have
looked
to
the
automation
of
equipment
to
bring
that
in,
but
now
that
brings
another
set
of
challenges
for
us,
the
technical
skill
to
operate
those
that
equipment
and
for
now
it's
a
true
thing
is
happening.
D
Estimated
that
we
about
11,000
employees
we
have
at
the
site
routinely
about
fifty
percent
of
those
employees
excuse
me
are
eligible
to
retire
in
the
next
five
years,
so
we're
talking
about
replacing
thousands
of
employees
over
the
next
five
to
ten
year
period.
We
have
some
unique
requirements,
also
that
people
need
to
be
aware
of
that.
We're
trying
to
get
the
word
out.
Many
of
our
jobs
are
most
of
our
jobs.
You
have
to
pass
a
drug
test.
D
E
F
G
C
D
E
Seen,
students
graduate
with
college
degrees,
two
and
four
come
to
work
in
the
industry
and
fail
out
within
their
first
year,
because
they
don't
have
a
work
ethic
I've
seen
really
good
students
that
are
really
poor,
interviewers
and
do
not
know
what
to
expect.
So,
even
though
they
may
have
been
a
really
great
candidate,
they
can't
get
in
in
the
door.
We've.
F
G
Chemical
operations,
crafts,
those
crafts
or
highly
technical
roles
and
responsibilities,
and
that
compensate
extremely
well.
Interestingly,
there's
a
lot
of
folks
who
are
degreed
history,
majors
others
that
then
become
chemical
operators,
because
they
can
make
sixty
thousand
dollars
close
to
being
right
out
the
gate.
G
E
Statistics
show
us
that
stem
and
females
are
losing
that
interest
early
on,
so
we
go
back
into
middle
school.
We
start
middle
school
programs
that
support
6th
7th
8th
grade
girls
to
feed
into
that
energy
pathway
to
feed
into
that
I
guess
detects
any
t
program,
so
you
have
to
get
a
very
holistic
picture
of
what
you're
going
to
do
in
your
pipeline.
You
have
to
have
the
support
to
do
it
over
long
term.
Hiring
manager
wants
that
ready
now
person.
F
County
Chamber
of
Commerce
for
us
has
been
a
tour
textron.
It's
been
a
great
partner
in
getting
our
voice
in
the
community
through
the
workforce
and
education
committee.
They
had
started
some
programs
principles
for
day,
so
many
business
leaders
from
Columbia
County
go
to
the
30-plus
schools,
the
county,
our
principal
for
day.
They
get
to
walk
in
the
principal
shoes
to
wait
for
businesses
to
experience.
You
know
what
the
educators
are
experiencing.
We
also
have
teachers
of
business.
Last
month
we
brought
in
teachers
from
the
middle
school
STEM
program.
F
That
was
a
focus
for
this
year
and
they
toured
my
factory
as
well
as
John,
Deere
and
others
in
the
region,
so
we're
engaged
there
and
then
we
brought
students
in
business.
We
bought
the
students
in,
but
probably
the
most
engaging
part
that
we're
starting
to
venture
into
is
is
really
partnering
with
the
middle
schools
here
for
stem.
We.
D
Work
with
local
colleges
and
universities,
we
provided
a
million
dollars
a
year
over
the
last
five
years,
really
to
focus
the
curricula
on
the
work
skills
we're
going
to
need
in
the
future
at
the
site
that
that's
just
come
to
an
end
and
very
successful
in
educating
a
number
of
students
through
that
program.
We're
just
getting
ready
to
kick
off.
Another
five-year
grant.
D
H
The
contract
work
force,
the
people
that
we
hire
have
to
be
experts
and
be
able
to
perform
on
the
first
day.
There's
no
train
up,
there's
no
on-the-job
training,
there's
no
transition
period
in
most
of
these
cases.
So
we
have
to
find
the
right
people
to
come
in
and
execute
that
mission
on
the
first
day
and
usually
we're
hiring
them
that
week.
So
we
have
to
have
a
good
recruiting
process.
You
have
to
have
a
good
bench
and
you
have
to
know
the
workforce
and
what
the
requirements
are,
but.
I
With
the
cyber
school
in
the
army,
the
only
service
have
done.
This
is
we've
created
a
specific
branch
in
the
army
specifically
focused
on
the
cyber
effects
workforce,
and
so
in
looking
at
the
attributes
of
the
individuals,
some
of
them,
you
would
say,
very,
very
intuitive.
So
we
need
individuals
that
are
very
comfortable
within
the
cyberspace
domain,
but
because
we're
combating
bad
people
doing
bad
things
to
technology,
sometimes
which
is
bad.
We
also
have
to
have
an
understanding
of
human
behaviors,
and
so
it's
a
behavioral
understanding,
as
well
as
comfort
within
that
IT
domain.
I
J
Guys
are
taking
our
employees
all
the
time
or
are
trying
to
recruit
the
same
employees
that
we're
trying
to
get
it's
a
highly
competitive
healthcare
environment
for
university
health
care
system.
It
is
our
mission
at
university
is
to
improve
the
health
of
those
we
serve.
That's
why
we
exist
right.
We
don't
make
tires
or
widgets
or
anything
else,
but
incorporated
in.
That
is
a
huge
technology
piece,
because
our
staff
are
expected
to
enter
information
into
the
electronic
medical
record.
It's
how
we
leverage
our
electronic
medical
record
to
improve
safety,
to
improve
quality,
improve
efficiency.
K
Really
have
to
have
a
workforce
that
is
dedicated
to
the
changing
technology.
Much
like
Lori
said
the
caregiver
side
is
incredibly
important.
It's
hard
to
teach
empathy,
that's
what
we
do
its
hands
on
healthcare,
that's
what's
at
the
basis
of
everything
we
do,
but
the
technology
drives
with
your
doctor,
whether
your
radiology
technologist
or
something
else,
the
technology's
there.
K
So
we
have
people
a
lot
of
time
with
the
skill
set
and
many
years
of
experience.
The
challenge
we
have
is
really
that
next
generation,
how
do
you
keep
them
from
leaving
to
go
to
Atlanta?
How
do
you
keep
them
from
going
to
columbia
or
greenville
or
other
areas?
How
do
we
get
them
to
stay
within
our
community
and
that's
probably
been
the
biggest
challenge
we.
J
Know
to
like
sean
was
saying
if
they
have
a
good
experience
in
terms
of
bringing
and
the
student
nurses
that
they
have
a
good
experience
with
their
practicum
with
their
clinicals,
and
they
have
a
good
experience
with
their
preceptor
the
person,
who's,
guiding
them
and
teaching
them
and
showing
them
and
helping
them
navigate
that
they're
more
likely
to
stay
with
us,
and
so
we've
had
really
good
experiences
with
that.
We.
I
H
Of
keeping
anyone
in
the
workforce
is
about
treating
them
right
so
treat
everybody
with
respect.
Do
the
right
thing
every
day
is
kind
of
a
normal
cultural
thing,
especially
in
this
area,
and
I
will
tell
you
that
you
can
have
someone
who's
very
talented,
who
has
a
degree
who
has
all
the
right
certifications
who
can
pass
the
drug
test
and
all
those
things,
but
without
character.
We
can't
let
them
on
our
national
networks,
because
that's
going
to
be
the
downfall
of
where
we're,
headed
and
and
we've
seen
it
happen.
H
We
talked
a
lot
about
four-year
degrees
and
I
alluded
to
this
a
little
bit,
but
most
of
the
requirements
we
hire
two
are
required
to
have
certifications.
These
are
national
standard,
certifications.
These
certifications
don't
require
you
to
go
to
college,
but
what
they
do
require
you
to
do
is
have
some
talent
pass.
A
test
have
continuing
education,
and
so
we
need
the
opportunity
for
people
in
high
school.
I
mean
many
of
these,
the
initial
certifications.
You
could
do
it
while
you're
in
high
school.
H
We
reach
out
across
the
whole
country.
We
do
hire
people
here
in
this
area
and
I'll
tell
you
my
experience
and
the
things
that
we're
doing
here.
It's
not
hard
to
fill
a
position
here
in
the
augusta
area.
It
is
much
tougher
to
move
them
to
places
where
the
government
has
bract
to
not
where
they're
from,
because
it's
a
new
area
and
talent
pools
are
usually
tapped
out.
H
They
will
be
tougher
when
we
have
new
kinds
of
requirements
here,
like
when
the
Cyber
Command
moves
here
and
one
of
the
things
that
we
have
done
recruiting
software
developers,
for
example,
we
left
them
where
they
were
and
they
telework
that's
not
going
to
work
for
a
government
workforce
here
in
Augusta.
We're
gonna
have
to
bring
them
here,
so
we're
gonna
have
to
find
some
innovative
ways
to
bring
them
in.
We.
I
K
All
pulling
from
the
same
talent
pool
and
that's
really
where
the
challenge
is
going
to
come
in
and
that's
what
I
get
worried
about,
even
as
cyber
command
makes.
The
final
move
here
is
NSA
continues
to
expand
as
contractors
come
here,
we're
all
going
to
be
fighting
for
a
relatively
small
pool
of
people,
and
it's
we
got
to
be
prepared
for
that.
L
L
So
when
we're
looking
at
economic
development,
we're
looking
at
recruiting
companies
through
the
region,
we're
also
paying
attention
to
what
the
needs
of
our
existing
workforce
is
and
what
our
existing
employers
are.
Looking
for.
That
being
said,
when
I
look
at
Columbia
County
we're
sitting
at
a
four
point:
eight
percent
unemployment
rate
right
now
anything
under
five
starts
to
gain
a
little
bit
of
concern
based
on
availability
of
Workforce.
L
When
you
look
at
where
things
are
coming
from
from
a
regional
standpoint,
we
do
have
a
large
area
that
we're
pulling
from,
but
we
want
to
be
mindful
that,
when
we're
recruiting
a
new
company
that
we're
being
very
cognizant
of
the
skills
that
those
jobs
are
going
to
require
and
to
make
sure
that
we're
not
putting
a
negative
effect
on
our
existing
industry,
so
there's
a
nice
balance
that
you
have
to
find
in
that
process.
So.
M
Workforce
is
the
number
one
key
driver
to
a
successful
economic
development
program
and
will
and
we'll
make
our
region
more
successful
in
Aitkin
County.
As
you
all
probably
know,
we
have
a
lot
of
people
who
have
finished
their
working
career,
but
we
need
to
get
more
young
people
into
that
pipeline.
Let
them
understand
that
manufacturing
is
a
great
way
to
make
a
living
availability.
N
If
an
industry
is
having
problem,
we
have
that
connection
and
we
try
to
connect
the
dots
between
industry
and
the
problem
solvers.
Rather
it
be
trainers
or
any
of
the
things
that
we
know
so
very
well.
That
affects
companies.
Looking
at
us,
so
I
would
say,
the
availability
of
the
workforce
is
certainly
is
central
to
what
we
do
whatever.
O
It
comes
to
our
organizations
looking
after
our
particular
County.
That's
our
job!
That's
what
we
do
when
it
comes
to
the
companies
that
we're
recruiting
there
are
no
county
lines,
are
no
state
lines,
they're
looking
for
the
workforce
and
they're
looking
for
the
workforce
in
this
region.
That's
why
we're
here
today
to
make
sure
that
we
talk
about
a
good
regional
workforce.
L
One
thing
I
want
to
make
sure
everyone
in
the
room
knows
that
thirty
thousand
new
jobs
or
replacement
jobs
that
we're
looking
at
is
not
a
unique
situation
to
the
greater
Augusta
region.
This
is
a
national
epidemic
that
we
are
all
looking
at
thirty-seven
thousand
new
jobs
coming
in
or
having
to
replace
is
a
challenge,
but
it's
also
an
opportunity.
It's
an
opportunity
for
us
to
work
with
our
business
leaders
or
Boards
of
Education
zor
local
governments
to
really
identify
a
path
forward.
L
It's
an
opportunity
to
engage
a
new
student
into
the
manufacturing
careers
and
bringing
them
forward
that
37,000
job
number
is
an
extremely
conservative
estimate
over
the
next
five
years.
One
of
the
biggest
challenges
that
the
study
had
was
identifying
the
opportunities
and
the
growth
needs
related
to
cybersecurity
and
technology.
L
I
think
every
one
of
us
in
here
knows:
we
have
a
little
bit
of
growth
happening
in
that
industry
and
if
we
do
something
right
and
we're
prepared
we're
going
to
end
up
with
a
lot
of
growth
in
that
industry
and
those
jobs
affect
the
manufacturing,
they
affect
the
health
IT.
They
affect
every
element
of
what
we're
dealing
with
when
recruiting.
M
I
believe
we
need
to
get
our
educators
indicate
through
12
system
in
to
see
some
of
our
facilities,
the
guidance
counselor,
so
they
can
be
better
informed
as
they
advise
our
young
people.
You
know,
we've
got
our
technical
colleges
and
in
our
four-year
colleges
that
are
that,
go
in
and
meet
with
these
companies,
but
I'm
sure
there's
limited
involvement
of
all
of
our
school
systems,
but
they
need
to
be
more
engaged
and
understand,
so
they
have
the
most
time
with
our
workforce
of
the
future.
What.
O
About
what
a
good
example
of
something
that
was
just
recently
announced
is
what
richmond
county
school
system
is
doing
at
textron
specialized
vehicles,
whether
you
read
about
this
or
not,
but
they're,
getting
ready
to
start,
what's
known
as
the
RPM
program,
where
this
is
going
to
be
about
75,
kids
starting
this
fall
where
they
will
be
essentially
going
to
class
in
the
morning
and
working
at
textron
of
the
afternoon.
In.
N
O
L
Taking
ownership
in
this
plan
in
this
vision
going
forward
and
help
us
spread.
The
word
help
us
engage
the
rest
of
the
community,
the
rest
of
the
political
leaders,
the
rest
of
the
education
leaders
and
the
rest
of
the
business
leaders.
But
if
we
can
take
the
momentum
we
have
today
and
keep
it
going
forward,
we
will
be
in
a
very
good
position
over
the
next
five
years.
Q
It
is
a
great
pleasure
to
be
here.
The
panel
was
great
and
I
learned
from
it
and
totally
revised.
My
remarks
based
on
what
the
panel
had
to
say,
I
will
try
to
be
straightforward
and
candid,
as
Dave
said,
I
would
be
because
this
this
issue
and
your
issues
and
problems
deserve
nothing
but
the
truth.
Let
me
give
you
an
overview
30,000
feet,
quickly:
American
education
and
try
to
connect
it
up
to
what
was
said
this
morning,
then
I
hope
we'll
have
time
for
questions.
Q
We
have
50
million
students
in
in
pre-k
through
12,
in
America,
in
public
schools
and
frankly,
most
of
them
are
not
learning
enough.
Not
nearly
enough
dramatically
increased
spending.
We
have
not
increased
performance
college
attendance,
four-year
colleges,
we
had
20
million
young
people
attending
four-year
colleges
with
a
completion
rate
in
six
years
of.
Does
anyone
want
to
guess
forty-eight
percent?
Q
When
we
look
at
bachelor
degrees,
we
find
a
great
mismatch
between
what
students
are
studying
and
where
the
jobs
are
and
we
are
awarding
fewer
degrees
in
the
STEM
disciplines,
science,
technology
engineering
math
than
we
did
25
years
ago.
The
demands
are
greater
in
those
fields,
but
the
students
aren't
taking
those
courses.
Q
Community
colleges
are
thriving
in
America
where
they
are
supported
and
well
lead.
Students
need
to
realize
again
for
those
who
want
to
go
for
a
year
do
four
year.
That's
fine,
but
you
can
get
a
very
good
job,
as
you
obviously
can
in
this
community.
If
you
go
two
years
and
and
that
study
the
right
things,
you
can
even
I
gather
I'm
starting
a
couple
of
panelists
afterwards
get
a
pretty
decent
entry-level
job.
If
you
graduate
from
high
school,
have
the
right
attitude?
Q
Have
decent
aptitude,
I,
just
heard
attitude
and
aptitude
and
are
willing
to
learn?
Most
employers?
Don't
expect
you
to
have
those
specialized
skills
when
you
take
the
job,
but
will
teach
it
to
you
if
you
will
show
up
on
time
and
show
the
right
attitude
now.
These
are
big
and
complicated
subjects
and
they
require
us
not
only
to
talk
about.
The
panel
was
talking
about
cooperation
of
the
community
community
leaders,
educational
institutions
and
employers,
but
another
institution
which
is
the
800-pound
gorilla
in
the
room.
Q
The
seismic
shift
in
American
life,
which
is
the
American
family,
it
makes
not
a
little
difference.
It
makes
a
huge
difference.
You've
got
a
situation
where
you're
not
getting
much
cooperation
or
lukewarm
cooperation
from
family
can
the
school's
do
it
on
their
own.
They
can
do
a
lot
more
than
people
think
they
can
do
a
lot
more
than
people
think
the
research
is
overwhelming
here,
particularly
for
the
educators
in
the
audience
after
the
parent.
Q
The
teacher
is
the
single
most
important
influence
on
the
child's
education
that
may
sound
obvious,
but
a
lot
of
people
think
it's
physical
plant
facilities
time
on
task.
It
isn't.
It
is
the
quality
of
the
teacher.
What
else
can
we
do
to
improve
educational
performance?
One
very
simple
thing
and
the
research
is
again
overwhelming
on
this
reading.
If
you
want
equality
in
America
get
everybody
reading,
let
me
mention
one
other
thing.
Talking
about
math
and
science.
Q
We
lose
a
lot
of
people
in
the
STEM
disciplines
in
science,
technology
engineering
and
math
I
have
pushed
Project
Lead
the
Way
to
take
a
more
pronounced
emphasis,
look
and
emphasis
in
the
elementary
schools
which
was
mentioned
on
the
panel.
The
elementary
schools
is
where
you
need
to
go
in
part
to
fix
this
problem.
You
want
more
good
employees
for
the
nascent
nuclear
plant
go
to
the
elementary
schools.
Most
kids
turn
off
math
when
they
are
seven,
not
when
they're,
12
or
14,
when
they're
seven
they
decide.
This
is
too
hard.
Q
I
can't
do
this
and
they're
right
in
the
sense
that
it's
hard,
it
is
hard
you
got
to
get
it
right.
We
can
encourage
greater
interest
in
math
at
an
early
age
by
making
it
more
interesting
at
no
time
in
the
history
of
the
world
has
there
been
a
greater
dollar
value
of
intelligence
and
educated
the
educated
mind
than
today
we
are
doing
a
better
job
as
a
civilization
and
overcoming
ridiculous
restrictions
by
race
or
by
gender
or
by
caste.
Casting
those
things
aside,
pushing
them
aside
now
kind
of
a
real
sorter.
Q
The
real
sorting
mechanism
is
education
and
education
with
education,
attitude
and
ambition.
We
need
workers
with
strong
skills,
both
strong
soft
skills
and
basic
hard
skills,
who
can
pass
a
background
and
a
drug
test,
and
you
know
that
that
kind
of
captures
the
whole
thing
we're
talking
about
a
human
being,
we're
talking
about
a
young
human
being
and
they
are
sent
so
many
signals,
so
many
conflicting
signals
and
the
culture
has
sent
them.
So
many
discouraging
singles
signals
in
you
can
be
anything
you
want
with
very
little
effort
families
don't
matter.
Q
It's
all
a
matter
of
just
arbitrary
coupling
and
grouping
weekends
are
what
to
live
for
when
I
give
commencement
addresses
I'm,
giving
one
this.
This
may
I
always
tell
students
one
measure
of
a
life
I
think
it's
not
just
tgif.
Thank
goodness.
It's
Friday
here
comes
the
weekend
and
that's
fun,
especially
in
the
fall
football
games,
but
I'm
one
other
measure
of
success
in
life
is,
thank
goodness.
Q
It's
Monday,
that's
a
job
that
should
be
talked
about
and
if
you
will
a
set
of
expectations
that
should
be
talked
about
at
homes
in
schools
and
churches,
certainly,
and
maybe
around
the
water
cooler
at
at
work,
the
conditions
for
success
and
what
is
still
a
remarkably
mobile
society,
I'm
just
marveling
reading
the
material
here
and
listening
to
the
panel
when
I
hear
people
saying
there
are
no
jobs
or
no
jobs
are
no
jobs
in
America
there
are
jobs
in
America.
We
have
people
in
Washington,
say:
well,
those
textiles,
they
all
left
South
Carolina.
Q
So
there
are
no
jobs
left
it's
a
new
economy
here
right,
it's
a
whole
new
economy
here
and
it's
just
ready.
It's
just
ready
for
a
good
for
a
good
workforce.
It's
America!
We
do
it
right,
as
you
are
in
this
community
and
we
can
fix
it.
I
congratulate
you
all
for
this
collaborative
this
collaborative
effort,
fascinating
what
I've
learned
already
this
morning
and
thanks
for
the
opportunity.
A
B
One
thing
right
off
the
bat
is
to
take
away
some
of
the
information
that
you
heard
in
the
video
which
came
out
of
a
study
that
was
done
by
the
SRS
community
reuse
organization,
and
it
states
that
there
are
about
thirty,
seven
thousand
new
jobs
that
she
opened
up
in
this
community
in
the
next
five
years.
And
the
important
thing
to
note
about
that
is
about
eighty
percent
of
those
are
due
to
retirement
or
attrition
in
our
community.