Governor Opens Center of Innovation for Manufacturing Excellence

Governor Opens Center of Innovation for Manufacturing Excellence

Governor Announces New Office of Workforce Development

ATLANTA – Today Governor Sonny Perdue announced the opening of the new Center of Innovation for Manufacturing Excellence in Gainesville at Lanier Technical College .  The manufacturing center is the newest of six innovation centers recently created in the state of Georgia .

“For Georgia to become a state of innovation, we must make innovation our competitive advantage in every sector of the economy,” said Governor Sonny Perdue.  “The Center of Innovation for Manufacturing Excellence represents the state's commitment to provide research and training in advanced manufacturing technologies.”

Technologies that will be taught at the center were identified through collaborative partnerships between manufacturing companies and Georgia 's technical colleges.

“This center represents the best thinking, the best planning and the best strategy for guaranteeing that Georgia 's workforce is prepared for the 21 st century manufacturing environment,” said Mike Vollmer, commissioner of the Department of Technical and Adult Education. “To stay competitive, Georgia companies need to adopt new technologies and new ways of doing business, and this center and our technical colleges are critical to preparing the workforce needed to guarantee the ongoing success of manufacturing in our state.”

The technologies in place at the new Center of Innovation for Manufacturing Excellence include programmable logic control electronics, various robotics operations, and computer numerical controls, which are fundamental processes in advanced computer-integrated manufacturing.

“We are already integrating the center into our maintenance training matrix,” said Dave Viebrock, manager of Caterpillar's facility in Jefferson , Georgia . “Even more important is the knowledge that the center will be there when we are ready to make our next major shift to stay competitive in the future.”

Other Centers of Innovation in Georgia include Life Sciences in Augusta , Agriculture in Tifton, Aerospace in Warner Robins , Information Technology in Columbus and Maritime Logistics in Savannah .

Governor Perdue also announced today the creation of the Governor's Office of Workforce Development, designed to unify statewide efforts to prepare Georgians for jobs of the future. Governor Perdue named Debra Lyons to manage the Office of Workforce Development.  Lyons, a Macon native, is an engineer, educator, and small business owner with more than 10 years experience in developing and delivering technical training.

 The Office of Workforce Development will coordinate planning and policy for a comprehensive workforce system designed to create an employment base that supports the state's strategies for economic growth. The system will encompass Governor Perdue's workforce policies, labor and employment services and economic development initiatives.  The Office of Workforce Development will focus on education to strengthen the state's workforce, involving programs across the spectrum of lifelong learning, from grade schools to universities.

Governor Perdue's plan for a statewide system grew from recommendations of the Governor's Commission for A New Georgia, which urged more collaboration between public and private sectors in building a high-caliber workforce which would be a magnet for high-growth industries.

Governor Perdue also announced that he will establish a platform for systematic collaboration by reorganizing the state's federally-mandated Workforce Investment Board (WIB) by executive order. The order moves the board from the Department of Labor to the Office of the Governor, as prescribed by Congress.

The reconstituted workforce board enables state policymakers to work closely with the

business-sector, communities and employment programs in filling state and regional workforce pipelines with job-ready Georgians.  The board will recommend policy to guide the state's strategic workforce plan.  

The WIB will have 43 members, including 20 Georgia business leaders, the highest-ranking officials from 11 state agencies, local elected officials and representatives from community organizations and labor unions.  Governor Perdue, the Commissioner of Labor, University System Chancellor, State School Superintendent, Commissioner of the Department of Technical and Adult Education and Commissioner of Economic Development will be members.  Short biographies of the WIB members are available on the Governor's web site: http://www.gov.state.ga.us/2006_releases.shtml .

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