Northwest Georgia

Lifelong learning is essential to driving the growth of Georgia's most innovative, high-potential industries. We are supporting continuous education by creating pathways for students to begin their career development at the high school level and then continue on through specialized programs at our technical colleges and post-secondary education through our two- and four-year colleges and universities. By constantly improving and expanding knowledge and skills, Georgia's workforce will remain at the cutting-edge and drive ongoing economic opportunity throughout the state.

Career Pathways | Submit New Career Pathway >

A career pathway is a well-defined road map for understanding the educational courses and technical training resources required and available for the emerging, transitioning and existing workforce to prepare for a specific occupation or career. Companies in the Northwest Georgia Advanced Manufacturing Work Ready Region support career pathways as a valuable tool in developing their future workforce. Georgia Work Ready Regions bring together education, training and work readiness certification tools in a coordinated strategy to fill the jobs of today and tomorrow.

For more information on Georgia's post-secondary education options, visit Georgia College 411.

Regional Work Ready Certificate report

The counties located within the Northwest Georgia Advanced Manufacturing Work Ready Region work to drive current workers and the available workforce to earn Work Ready Certificates. The measure of the number of Work Ready Certificates earned helps the communities to quantify the skills of their workforce and collectively promote the region as the best location for advanced manufacturing companies.

Quick Start Program

In addition to Work Ready, Georgia's nationally recognized Quick Start program provides customized training programs for new and expanding businesses.

Graduation rates

In addition to encouraging citizens to earn Work Ready Certificates, the region must also demonstrate a commitment to improving its public high school graduation rates. The state's graduation rate has increased from 63.3 percent to 75.4 percent. We have had 4,500 fewer dropouts in the first two years of the graduation coach program.

We know that a high school graduate earns approximately $260,000 more over a lifetime than those who do not complete high school. Multiply that by 1,600 students and it totals $416 million in additional income, which can have a huge, positive impact on our state.

The Northwest Georgia Advanced Manufacturing Work Ready Region's public high school graduation rates are as follows:

Education Attainment | Click to View >

Georgia's commitment to building the best, most proficient workforce and keeping the best minds at home is evident in our emphasis on lifelong learning. Our state encourages students to not only earn their high school diplomas, but also pursue higher education and specialized degrees. We want education in Georgia to start young and finish strong - creating the workforce businesses need to reach the next level and beyond.