Leaders of the Bavarian State Ministry for Education, Culture and Science and the Technical College System of Georgia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that establishes a partnership giving Georgia and German students expanded educational opportunities. TCSG Commissioner Gretchen Corbin and Georg Eisenreich, the Bavarian ministry’s State Secretary, signed the MOU in a ceremony held Sept. 26th in Munich.
 
The MOU states each party’s commitment to maximize the educational and training programs offered by vocational and technical colleges in both states to students and teachers. The partnership gives students and apprentices access to international science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs in order to maximize career opportunities. The MOU also establishes a framework that partners with companies to promote world-class workforce development, training, apprenticeships and related services.
 
“Signing this MOU expands Georgia’s longstanding relationship with Bavaria and formalizes an educational partnership that benefits students, faculty and partner companies in both states,” said TCSG Commissioner Corbin.
 
“The State of Georgia is an important partner region for the Free State of Bavaria. Great contacts already exist between the states and we wish to continue to strengthen these ties,” said Georg Eisenreich, State Secretary of the Bavarian State Ministry for Education, Culture and Science, which oversees the comprehensive education of children, youth and adult learners, including the state’s vocational schools and colleges.
 
Among the exchanges enabled by the agreement are internships, apprentice projects and traditional semester exchanges for both students and faculty. Many of these efforts are coordinated with partner companies to expand on their access to a globally skilled workforce.
 
“Georgia and Bavaria have a formal diplomatic, business and educational partnership through our existing Regional Leaders Summit. Today's MOU signing between Georgia's technical colleges and the State of Bavaria will allow Georgia companies to access additional highly skilled and globally astute talent to work in their companies,” said GDEcD Commissioner Pat Wilson. “The Georgia Department of Economic Development applauds agreements like today's as they add to the workforce development component of Georgia's economic development efforts.”
 
The MOU also encourages the participants to partner in workforce development with agencies and organizations such as the Georgia Department of Education, University System of Georgia, Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Halle Foundation, Joachim Herz Stiftung, Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals, German-American Partnership Program, and the German-American Chamber of Commerce of the South.
 
The signing ceremony is a direct result of Gov. Nathan Deal's workforce development mission to Germany in June 2016, which included attendance at the Regional Leaders Summit, a strategic alliance of five international regions.  Executives from Bavarian company Grenzebach, with operations in Newnan, Ga., were on hand to witness the signing ceremony, along with representatives from Central Educational Center in Coweta County, Ga., West Georgia Technical College, Southern Crescent Technical College and the Georgia Department of Economic Development.