The 2^nd annual Industry Workforce Bus Tour for regional education leaders will be held July 19 in partnership with Columbus 2025, the Greater Columbus GA Chamber of Commerce, and the Muscogee County School District.  An initiative of Columbus 2025’s Talented, Educated People Strategy, the purpose of the tour is to bring together leaders in education and industry to better connect students to career possibilities in STEM with local employers.  

The bus tour will feature local employers including Cott, Delta Data, Starrett-Bytewise, Synovus and TSYS.  This tour allows school administrators to see and hear what executives and managers are looking for in potential employees.  The educators tour environments where students will work beyond school. Administrators will also have the opportunity to engage in conversations about how they can better prepare students for high demand careers. The bus tour provides an enriching experience that will inform educators on the current and future demands of our regional workforce, the skills required to be successful (hard and soft skills) and demonstrated pathways to success.

“We are pleased to host our local educators and share our workforce needs for today and in the future,” said Andy Hidle, General Manager, Starrett-Bytewise. “We have a wide range of needs from software development, electrical and mechanical engineering, and technical production and assembly, so a diverse and well-educated workforce is important to our success,” Hidle said. Starrett-Bytewise is a local engineering firm located on Broadway in Uptown Columbus creating high-tech, laser-based measurement systems for the tire and other manufacturing industries. 

Educational institutions participating in the tour include Aaron Cohn Middle School, Arnold Magnet Academy, Chattahoochee Valley Community College, Columbus State University, Columbus Technical College, Dimon Magnet Academy, Double Churches Elementary , Early College Academy, East Columbus Magnet Academy , Hannan Magnet Academy, Jordan Vocational High, Muscogee County School District, Midland Middle School, Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts, Rothschild Middle, and Waddell Elementary.

The goal of Columbus 2025’s Talented, Educated People action area is to align education and workforce systems to create a talent pipeline that meets the workforce demands of the Greater Columbus region.