Georgia labor commissioner discusses workforce priorities during Savannah visit

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Georgia Labor Commissioner Barbara Rivera Holmes discussed the state’s workforce initiatives and the Georgia Department of Labor’s services during a visit to Savannah.

Rivera Holmes said the department’s work goes beyond unemployment benefits. She said the agency also provides re-employment services, including job matching and upskilling and reskilling through partnerships with technical colleges.

Career centers connect workers, employers

Rivera Holmes said the department operates a network of 34 career centers across the state, including one in Savannah. She said re-employment service specialists and partners, including the Technical College System of Georgia and WorkSource Georgia, work within those centers and through virtual services to connect Georgians to the workforce.

She said the department’s labor market data is used to inform local and state labor decisions. She also said the department is part of the governor’s Top State for Talent strategy team, which uses the data to help design the state’s workforce strategy.

Priorities include unemployment system overhaul

Rivera Holmes, who has served as commissioner for about a year and a half, said her priorities include supporting workers and businesses, reducing fraud and modernizing the department’s processes and systems.

She said the department is overhauling the state’s unemployment insurance platform, calling it the largest overhaul in state history. She said the project is nearing completion.

She said the department is also transitioning its communications to plain language and has created a “red tape task force” to identify and remove bureaucratic bottlenecks while maintaining system integrity.

Employers seek workers with technical, adaptive skills

Rivera Holmes said employers most often tell her they need workers with the right skills, based on data and a listening tour she has conducted around the state. She said employers are looking for a workforce that can adapt to technology and automation, in addition to skills such as reliability, punctuality and professional communication.

She said every industry now has a technology component, including news, health care, manufacturing and leisure and attractions industries, and that training students and adult learners to use technology is necessary to keep Georgia growing jobs and economic power.

Rivera Holmes said Georgia has been the top state for business for 12 years in a row.

Savannah region economy

Rivera Holmes said the Savannah region has a diversified economy that leads in logistics, manufacturing and health care services, along with leisure and hospitality. She said employers in the region are looking for workers with technical skills and the ability to adapt as those industries shift.

Rivera Holmes said Georgia’s unemployment rate is 3.3%, which she said is a full percentage point below the national average. She said unemployment in Savannah has dropped to the lowest in the state.