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News > Georgia Ranked First for Labor Availability & Work Force Development

Georgia Ranked First for Labor Availability & Work Force Development

10/14/2011
According to Georgia's Governor Nathan Deal: "Our goal is to be the best of the best."
 
Since a trained and available work force is often the deciding factor for businesses, Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Commissioner Chris Cummiskey points out that the QuickStart work force development program has played a major role in the state’s success.

“We make sure that companies have a fully trained work force at the state’s expense ready to go the first day they start operation,” he says, citing the $1 billion Kia project in West Point, which now employs 3,000 people, as “a perfect example.” Cummiskey explains, “Our people went over to Korea, to see how they run a manufacturing plant. Then, we replicated that, set up an on-site training center, sorted through 30,000 applications, found the best, and trained more than 1,000 people. On the first day, the company opened at 100 percent efficiency.”

Technical colleges, located within 30 miles of every Georgian, design curriculums to meet the community’s work force needs. In the four-year systems, Georgia Tech and University of Georgia are described by Cummiskey as “top universities in the country that basically people in Georgia can go to free-of-charge. This has helped to keep intellectual capital here for another level of employees as well.”

In the tax arena, Cummiskey notes that Georgia was the first Southeast state to implement single-factor apportionment for state income taxes, taxing corporations only on a percentage of sales in the state, while other states also tax on land and employees. “This makes our effective corporate tax rate in the 1 and 2 percent range, even less for some companies,” says Cummiskey. “In the last couple of years, when other states have raised corporate taxes, we have managed to cut taxes and still managed to balance our budget.”
Cummiskey says that while certain financial incentives can be emulated by other states, it has taken decades to nurture Georgia’s higher education and logistics paradigms. He boasts that the ports at Savannah and Brunswick, two class-A railroads housed on-site at the ports, and the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport comprise an unrivaled logistics infrastructure. This is perhaps why Georgia ranked second for its overall infrastructure and global access.

Governor Nathan Deal addressed Georgia’s high-ranked categories. “I’m not surprised Georgia is ranked highly for its infrastructure and global access. Assets such as the fastest-growing seaport and busiest airport in the country give us a built-in advantage over our competition,” he says. “But we’re also very aware that we need to keep our competitive edge, so I’ve launched a Georgia Competitiveness Initiative to ensure our state stays as business-friendly as possible. We’ve asked business leaders from around the state to help us find ways to stay strong, not just in work force and infrastructure, but also in key areas like innovation, global commerce, cost of doing business, and government efficiency. Our goal is to be the best of the best.”


The above is from an article in the Area Development magazine.  For the full article:
http://www.areadevelopment.com/siteSelection/Fall2011/top-business-states-consultants-survey-292876.shtml
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