Human resources professionals should know their elected officials because the laws they pass directly affect businesses and their employees, according to Robert Kelly.
Kelly, the President-elect of the CSRA SHRM Chapter and Vice President of Augusta Staffing Associates, said, for example, those laws can impact the benefits companies offer their employees. The Chapter hosted a panel of Georgia and South Carolina legislators at its monthly meeting on Thursday, August 11.
“Businesses are the backbone of any state, and if they have issues, they need to know who to talk to,” he said.
The panel included Congressman Rick Allen, Rep. Jodi Lott, and Sen. Tom Young. Attorney Ed Enoch with Enoch Tarver PC served as moderator.
Allen, who represents Georgia’s 12th Congressional District and serves on the House Education and Labor Committee, discussed the current labor shortage.
“As far as the workforce goes, everywhere we go, it’s a problem,” he said. “It’s estimated 160 million people were in the workforce before Covid, and it’s estimated there are now 138 million.”
Allen helped to write and pass the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, which was signed by former President, Donald Trump in 2018. The Act increases federal funding for career and technical education programs and allows businesses to participate in the development of those programs.
He said that helps to ensure students who complete these programs have the skills they need for in-demand jobs.
“It’s a bottom-up system, not a top-down system,” Allen said.
Like Allen, Lott, who represents House District 122, which includes parts of Columbia County, discussed the state’s technical education programs.
“Georgia has tuition-free technical college programs in high-demand fields,” she said. “Some are six-figure jobs.”
Certificate and diploma programs covered by the HOPE Career Grant include welding, electrical control systems, and pharmacy technology.
Young, who represents much of Aiken County, said a new workforce development center and nursing school are coming to Aiken Technical College.
While Democrats and Republicans seem to disagree about everything, Lott said that’s not the case in the Georgia House of Representatives.
“Most of the bills we pass are bipartisan bills,” she said. “We’re trying to make this work.”
