Why do we need a Technical College? 

Tribune and Georgian -- Jill Helton, Publisher:  Look no further than the classified section of this newspaper and you will see far fewer job listings than in past years. The pickings are pretty slim.

     One of the things our county needs most these days is jobs.

     Our county’s unemployment rate — currently 9.3 percent — is relatively low when compared to the state (10.1 percent) and the nation (9.8 percent). However, many people are working in jobs that paid less than previous jobs they held. And there is no significant commercial or industrial growth on the horizon.

     I continue to hear an interesting fact that I believe many of our residents need to know. A large number of the civil service workers at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base will reach retirement age in the next three to five years.

     At Trident Refit Facility (TRF) alone, 10 percent of workers are slated to reach retirement age before the end of 2011.

     Many of our county residents are already qualified for these jobs. For those who are not, a local technical college campus would help equip them with the skills they need to land these positions.

     As long as a naval base exists on our waterfront, civilians will continue to accept jobs on base, retire and then be replaced. We need to ensure that we are training our local workers to take those jobs or they will be filled by people from outside of Camden.

     Our school system and our Chamber of Commerce have worked hard over the past several years on workforce development to ensure that we have qualified employees for the companies who are here and those who decide to locate here in the future.

     TRF already works in partnership with our local campus to train workers in its popular apprenticeship program. Camden’s economic development leaders hope that this partnership could be expanded to include other commands on base. Companies like Express Scripts also have used our local college campus in the past to train new hires, so the campus is a definite plus in helping us attract new employers.  Unfortunately, the educational landscape has changed a bit since then.

     The College of Coastal Georgia has added a four year baccalaureate program, so most of its technical programs are now being offered through Altamaha Technical College.

     Unfortunately, ATC has no local campus. It is currently offering classes from space in the College of Coastal Georgia’s Camden Center. This can only be a temporary arrangement, though, because both the technical college and the College of Coastal Georgia need room to grow.

     A site has already been donated for a new technical college campus, due to the amazing generosity of the William H. Gross family. The project reportedly is listed as No. 2 on the Technical College System of Georgia’s capital needs list. We need to make sure it remains there, or moves up, when Governor-elect Nathan Deal and other new legislators assume office in January.

     Competition for state funds will be fierce in coming years, given Georgia’s economic woes. However, I think Camden County can make a good case for why this makes sense for southeast
Georgia.

     (Jill Helton is the publisher of the Tribune & Georgian and a regular Friday columnist.)