Talent Attraction Website

Q1 20 23

“The Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce is on a mission. Zeroing in on workforce development and talent recruitment and retention, the chamber recently launched greatercareerworks.com, a free digital career navigation and exploration tool that connects local employers, students, career-seekers, educators and other workforce partners to meet the needs of employers and potential employees. "

-- Lynn Farmer, Greater Macon Chamber Chief People Officer Georgia Trend Magazine March 2023

GEORGIA IS 5TH LARGEST EMPLOYER OF AVIATION MECHANICS IN U.S.

Over 500 aviation companies operate facilities in Georgia As a result, our state has the 5th largest concentration of avionic mechanics in the U S who earn an average annual income over $74K

A recent episode of Future Workforce Friday featured Mike Pace, Executive Director for Business & Industry Training Economic Development at Central Georgia Technical College. Kanisha Chandler, an active aviation professional at Embraer, gave viewers a look into an average day at work in the exciting aviation industry.

Future Workforce Friday is a live virtual program highlighting key industry sectors that streams monthly on greatercareerworks com in cooperation with the Bibb County School CTAE Local educators and working professionals introduce students to fascinating careers that are available in Central Georgia Future Workforce Friday highlighted several major workforce sectors including advanced manufacturing, aerospace, cybersecurity, and healthcare. Remaining programs for the school year will feature automotive, warehouse, and distribution sectors An Adult Series of Future Workforce Fridays will be presented in partnership with WorkSource this summer

A $100 prize for completing the Introduction to Human Anatomy module on greatercareerworks.com was presented to Elizabeth Stewart, a Bibb County School student The incentive was randomly awarded to one of the students who completed the free featured online course on the workforce development platform that is available to students in participating school systems

GreaterCareerWorks.com is the web-based hub linking workforce development and career navigation tools. The digital footprint has been recently enhanced to serve a more expansive regional audience of job seekers. and employers. Over 10,978 users engaged with educators and employers since the program ' s inception.

Entrepreneur Happy Hour in March at Fresh Produce

Pillar II: Attract and Retain Talent Entrepreneurial Support Initiative

The first quarter of 2023 was a transition period for Startup-Macon. The previous Community Navigator resigned to pursue other interests elsewhere in the ecosystem and to continue her education However, by early February, the leadership role was accepted by local entrepreneur, Andrew Eck.

Andrew Eck started several different companies in the Macon area and is very familiar with the local ecosystem Eck's primary goal is to help the ecosystem become self-sustaining before the end of the grant funding cycle

In Q1 of 2023, Andrew met with 15 new entrepreneurs and conducted four assessments The assessments allow Startup Macon to measure entrepreneurs on basic economic benchmarks relevant to the success of their business In addition, Andrew engaged local entrepreneurial service organizations nine times, and made four referrals to local Entrepreneurial Support Organizations (ESOs)

In addition, entrepreneurs continue to access the Startup-Macon website at www.startup-macon.com to engage with the program and local ESO’s 24/7. The site continues to function as an essential resource to assist new and existing entrepreneurs in the establishment of their business.

Startup-Macon hosted an Entrepreneur Happy Hour in March. Similar events will be scheduled and promoted twice a month to create interest and spur conversations with the rapidly-growing startup community