This position comes on the heels of a successful private sector campaign to fund the acceleration of Partnership Gwinnett’s five-year economic growth strategy to recruit, retain and expand businesses as well as attract, educate and retain workforce talent, in order to improve the quality of life for county residents.
The Director, World Class Talent will be responsible for implementing the goals of Gwinnett County’s primary and secondary schools through the creation and support of high school and college internship programs with Gwinnett employers in key target industry clusters. Those target industries include: Advanced Manufacturing, Professional and Corporate Services, Health Sciences & Services, Information & Technology Solutions and Supply Chain Management.
“The connection between access to quality education, a highly skilled work force and new business is organic,” said Dr. Glen Cannon, President of Gwinnett Technical College. “This role will support the goals necessary for building a strong community and Gwinnett Technical College is pleased to be a part of this process, as we will reap the collective economic benefits.”
“This opportunity comes at a time of great strength and stability for Gwinnett County, and we look forward to finding the right person who can take us to the next level of success and engagement as a community,” said Mike Levengood of The Law Office of J. Michael Levengood, LLC and Partnership Gwinnett’s Word-Class Talent Goal Chair.
Additional responsibilities of the Director, World Class Talent will include outreach to all racial, ethnic, and international support organizations engaging in workforce development programming, to integrate them into Gwinnett’s talent development system and improving business/institutional communications to enhance local training pipelines.
“Georgia Gwinnett College is pleased to be part of the process to select Partnership Gwinnett’s Director of World Class Talent,” said Renee Byrd-Lewis, GGC Vice President for Strategic Communications and Positioning. “We applaud this effort to create pathways for our students to participate in experiential learning beyond the classroom. Additionally, it increases the likelihood of retaining talented millennials in Gwinnett County, a goal of the Partnership Gwinnett initiative. This new position can play a significant role in aligning GGC’s human capital pipeline for the benefit of local and regional businesses.”
The Director will also collaborate with Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) to determine the optimal assistance necessary to achieve results in the Strategic Priorities for 2010-2020 program.
“People are our greatest resource when it comes to educating our students”, said Jody Reeves, Executive Director of Career and Technical Education for Gwinnett County Public Schools. “Our success as a school district depends upon the support of the people employed by the district and those served by it. As we like to say, ‘Good schools build better communities and good communities build better schools.’ The focus on developing a workforce for the future is today’s work. We are excited about this new opportunity to continue our successful relationship with Partnership Gwinnett to build a stronger community.”
“Our partners, who have been critical to our success, are represented on the committee to ensure an inclusive and transparent search process,” said Nick Masino, Senior Vice President for Gwinnett Chamber Economic Development and Partnership Gwinnett. “I am confident we will be able to identify a Director who will help us to achieve the vision that we defined in our comprehensive plan and foster relationships between the business and education communities focusing on education and workforce development that will facilitate Gwinnett’s economic progress.”
A search committee representing a wide range of Gwinnett businesses as well as key education stakeholders in Gwinnett County include:
· Mike Levengood (Search Committee Chair), The Law Office of J. Michael Levengood, LLC
· Sonya Buckley, Hire Dynamics
· Carla Carraway, Precision Planning
· Dr. Laura Crawley, University of Georgia, Gwinnett Campus
· David Fincher, Greater Atlanta Christian Schools
· Tim Le, Maxim Realty
· David McCulloch, Gwinnett Technical College
· Debbie Patz, Georgia Gwinnett College
· Pat Port, Primerica Financial Services
· Jody Reeves, Gwinnett County Public Schools
· Hal Risher, RockTenn
· Jonathan Winters, Cornerstone Financial
The search committee will review applications, then identify and recommend potential candidates for consideration. A Director is expected to be named in June.
A full description of the Director, World Class Talent position, including contact information is posted on the Partnership Gwinnett website at www.partnershipgwinnett.com.
About Partnership Gwinnett
Partnership Gwinnett is Gwinnett’s economic and community development initiative. Led by the Gwinnett Chamber and a host of public and private partners, the initiative targets the retention and expansion of existing Gwinnett businesses in addition to the development of new business in five key market segments: Information Technology Solutions; Health Sciences & Services; Headquarters & Professional Services; Supply Chain Management; and Advanced Manufacturing. The ultimate goal is to promote comprehensive economic development, increase education and workforce excellence, and support community and leadership development for the entire Gwinnett community. For more information on Partnership Gwinnett, the internationally award-winning community and economic development initiative, please visit www.partnershipgwinnett.com .
