Education

Atlanta’s economy is growing rapidly. In 2018, employers created 58,400 new jobs, and the workforce increased by 2.8 percent. Demand for new employees also jumped, with more than half a million job openings in the metro area – nearly 10 percent more than 2017. But despite this tremendous opportunity, like other growing areas, the Atlanta region is competing for talent at home and abroad to ensure economic prosperity and competitiveness in the years ahead. 

The future of work is now and the problem we are solving is not adapting to new technologies, but adapting to the dynamism of the economy, which will only accelerate. Dynamic economies require dynamic labor markets, and agile businesses require agile workers and workforce partnerships. 

Though not widely known outside of the education community, the Department of Education recently released information about a new pilot for institutions willing to reimagine their Federal Work Study (FWS) programs. Given the pilot’s emphasis on increased industry engagement in FWS, it is imperative that the business community be informed about the pilot and reach out to their education partners to leverage this pioneering opportunity to benefit our nation’s students. Chances like this are few and far between…and will become completely obsolete if limited interest prevails innovative thinking.