A collaboration to assess the birth to work pipeline in Thomasville-Thomas County.
Create short-, mid-, and long-term community derived and community aligned plans of action to strengthen the birth-to-work pipeline of Thomasville and Thomas County today and for years to come.
Kick off – March 23, 2022
Interviews, Focus Groups and Data Collection – April to November
Presentation of findings – January
Formation of working groups – Jan/Feb
Identification of goals, roles, and strategies – End of March
•
2019-2021
11m Job Openings
6.4m New Jobs Created
3.9m Fewer US Workers
2.3m Female Employees
3m Fewer VISA Holders
90% Left Workforce Over 55
34% Increase in Gig Workers
Dec 2022 GA Labor
Openings: 347,000
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
Healthcare: 39,000
Manufacturing: 19,000
Retail: 33,000
Hospitality: 20,000
Science & Tech: 27,000
Finance & Insurance: 13,000
Education: 8,000
67% Labor Supply Gap US
159% Labor Supply Gap GA
29th at 62% GA Ranked Labor
Participation
3.2M eligible Georgians not working
2022 GA averaged 415K job postings per month
2023 GA has a 230K workforce shortage
To reach current workforce demands, 60% of adults need postsecondary credentials.
We need many more students to get to and through college.
We need more adults to participate in the local workforce.
15% of all Georgia residents - (1.5 million people) live in a childcare desert
Infant care in a center averages $8,321 per year, compared to $8,573 for public college tuition
There is a major problem with daycare in the United States. Daycare is too expensive for the average person.
“I realized my paycheck was being eaten up by the cost of daycare, and I told my husband it doesn’t make sense for me to work. I was like, it doesn’t make sense. I’ll just stay home.”
~ Columbus Mother of 2
• Children who can’t read are 4x more likely to drop out of high school than proficient readers
• Over 70% of inmates in America’s prisons cannot read above a fourth-grade level
• 2/3 of students who cannot read proficiently by the 4th grade will end up in jail or on welfare
*Source: Governor’s Office of Student Achievement: How Do Students’ 3rd Grade Reading Levels Relate to their ACT/SAT and Chance of Graduating from HS?
2016 HS Graduation Rate by 3rd Grade Reading Proficiency Subgroups
2016 HS Graduation Rate by 3rd Grade Reading Proficiency
88% 86% 82% 83% 73%
Students w/ Disabilities 78% 77% 74% 65% 63%
Does Not Meet Meets Exceeds
• High Demand Career Initiative
• HOPE Career Grants
• Dual Enrollment
• CTAE Pathways
• AP Classes
• Option B programs
• Stackable Credentials
• Apprenticeships/ Internships
• Transportation Barriers
• Child and Elder Care Barriers
• Housing Barriers
• Mental and Physical Health Barriers
• Addiction and Substance Use Barriers
• Criminal Justice Barriers
• Educational Barriers
• Community Solutions
• Pay rate (and other forms of compensation) drive job choices
• Shift and schedule flexibility have always been important in the past, they have now become one of the top three factors in a worker’s decision about the job they choose and whether they stay
There is a culture shift underway in workers’ needs and expectations
Source: Blue-Collar Worker 2022 survey
1 Adult 2 Adults, 1 Working 2 Adults, Both Working
No Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children
Less than High School High School or GED Some College or Associates Degree Bachelors Degree or Higher
Beginning Developing Proficient Distinguished
• 3rd Grade ELA proficient (or above)
• Births to mothers who did not complete HS
• Population over 25 with less than a HS diploma
• Population under 18 in poverty
Percentage of adults reporting 14 or more days of poor mental health per month (age-adjusted).
The 2022 County Health Rankings used data from 2019 for this measure.
“The goal is to turn data into information and information into insight.”
– Carly Fiorina
“Maybe stories are just data with a soul.”
– Brene Brown
Intermission: In ONE WORD, what is the biggest strength of this community?
Text THEGEORGIAPA7 31 to 22333 to join
“There is not a job class where we don’t have an opening.”
“This is getting close to a breaking point.”
“I know a lot of women with a Bachelors or Master’s who stay home.”
“Everyone who is seeking work has work.”
Challenges
• Transportation
• Child Care
• Housing
• New generation of workers
• Burn out and Social Challenges
• People don’t know the jobs
Strengths
• So many great programs
• Connections between high schools, SRTC, industry
• CTAE, Dual Enrollment, WBL
• The hospital has a blueprint
• Shared challenges, shared goals
“People are retiring – who is going to fill those jobs? Who has those skills?”
“Seems like some people will leave a job pretty easily.”
“If a job seeker can’t see themselves in your work, they will not come there. And they have options.”
“There isn’t a workplace culture to support supportive parents, build loyalty, take care of their own.”
“YouTubing is a profession, and esports will send you to college.”
“Maybe we need to take marijuana off the list, so long as you show up to work sober. I’ve lost good people.”
Challenges
• Soft Skills
• Flexibility
• Connecting with supports
• Competition rather than collaboration
• Change is hard
Strengths
• The challenge is everywhere
• There are resources/ programs
There are ways to grow without losing the identity of a place”
“A lot of people live here who love it, who want to do whatever they can to help it, to keep the good while making the changes required to thrive” as a community.
Youth and Young Adults: Grow, Attract, Retain
Race Relations: Continue to Build Trust Social
“I would like my kids to stay if I thought there was anything for them.”
“What’s the incentive, for people my age?”
“There are very few of us here that aren’t from here.”
“There are parts of the community that have not been served.”
“I don’t talk to my boys about them staying here. I don’t see a future for them- can they be fulfilled in Thomasville?”
“I don’t want to be the face they use to betray my people.”
“Work is being done in good faith.”
“There is no evil cabal, the problems are inadvertent, become systemic. But people can only see what they can see.”
“I want to be a change agent, but I don’t want to be a martyr.”
“Folks with the willingness to make changes are THERE.”
“Thomasville is very ‘I have to know you to get in.’”
“I was 2 miles from downtown and my route didn’t drive through downtown, so for 2 years I never knew what was happening downtown, and they didn’t know anything about me or what we do.”
“There is a lack of a middle class here.”
“Big, grown gap between the haves and the have-nots.”
“There are great opportunities in arts, sports, all that…if you can pay for it.”
Challenges
• Disconnected Communities
• Resistance to Cultural Changes
• History
Strengths
• History and Heritage
• Relationship Rich Community
• Momentum
• Art, Culture, Downtown, Faith Community, Community Events
Best thing about Thomasville is its potential for relationship building. Such potential for so many voices coming to the table.”
Thomas County is not as polarized as the average SWGA county, it does a pretty good job of integrating the polarities and having peace on earth.” An island of civility.”
“If there was an identified direction to fight some of these challenges, there are resources to do it. “
“A nonprofit-rich community.”
“We’re a rich enough community to support” social, educational, leadership, and workforce supports.
“The issue is alignment, and partnership.”
“There are a lot of great resources in the area, and a lot of people working towards shared goals, but…
we’re all in siloes and sometimes in competition where there could be the opportunity to partner.”
Challenges
• Disconnect between school districts
• Disconnect between County and City
• Significant income gaps
• Racial division
• Hard for newcomers
Strengths
• Shared Goals
• Clarified Needs
• Strong Educational Pathways/ Partnerships
• Willingness to Partner
• Business Community
• SRTC
• Non-Profit Rich Community
• Philanthropic Community
• Faith Community
• Strong Social Fabric
• “Don’t forget the Grandmothers”
But
“If you want all these things, good education, good training, parent involvement, etc., then you have to build a system that supports all those things.
We need to get the system moving in the right direction fast enough for what is coming down the pike.”
Random Acts of Improvement
Partially Aligned Acts of Improvement
Aligned Acts of Improvement
GOALS
• Early Care and Learning
• Literacy by 3rd Grade • Pipelines to Post-Secondary Study • Worker Barriers • Communication and Relationship Building
• Shared challenges means shared solutions
• Think creatively
• Tap the resources of a vibrant, loving, committed, generous community
• Call your pastor
Where do you fit?
What is your interest?
What is your need?
• Early Care and Learning
• Literacy by 3rd Grade
• Pipelines to Post-Secondary Study
• Worker Barriers
• Communication and Relationship Building