Six major businesses in the Golden Isles hosted groups of teachers for several days to show them what it takes to manage a business with hundreds or thousands of employees.
The 28 teachers gathered Friday to share what they learned and what they plan to bring back to the classroom for their students in the third annual teacher externship program.
The externship program was created out of necessity three years ago by the Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce to help local businesses struggling to find job applicants.
Ralph Staffins III, the chamber’s president and CEO, said the intent of the program is to get students and businesses connected.
“It’s 100% working,” he said. “It connects industry to our classrooms.”
There are currently twice as many jobs available in the Golden Isles as there are applicants.
“Workforce is our No. 1 priority,” Staffins said. “We want to make sure there is a connection with our community”
And those jobs aren’t just in the service industry, teachers learned.
Teachers who went to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center said many in the community consider it the “Area 51” of Glynn County.
What they learned was there are many employment opportunities at the 1,600-acre site. They shadowed different employees specializing in cybersecurity, investigations and human resources. IT positions, in particular, are difficult to fill, they learned.
While training is the mission of FLETC, it takes 2,000 contracted employees to maintain the facility’s infrastructure and provide other services.
Teachers who went to King & Prince Seafood said they learned the company’s culture is important and math is everywhere. They learned there are a wide variety of jobs at the facility, including food engineers, technicians, maintenance workers and an executive chef.
The business is also working with Coastal Pines Technical College to build an employee pipeline.
Southeast Georgia Health System, with 2,600 employees, is constantly looking for new help, and most of the open positions are not for doctors and nurses, although there is a need for more nurses.
There are many non-clinical jobs responsible for maintaining the facility and medical staff.
The Jekyll Island Authority was a first-time participant in the externship program. Teachers said there are a surprisingly large number of jobs to support the self-sustaining state park. Jobs include everything from golf course maintenance and landscaping to wastewater management and tour guide.
Teachers explained similar experiences learning about the many employment opportunities at Sea Island Co. and Okefenokee Rural Electric.
The one common quality the employers are looking for are “soft skills,” including communication, appearance, punctuality, teamwork and customer service.
Brian Weese, CEO of Golden Isles College and Career Academy, expressed confidence the externship program will help businesses meet their employment needs.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to connect industry to our educators,” he said. “There’s a lot of good opportunities in our community.”