Science, Technology are Important to Our Future

With technology changing at such a rapid pace from a personal and business perspective, it is important that we stay ahead of the curve and plan for the future.

This year, I was appointed by the Lt. Governor and President Pro Tem as chairman of the Science and Technology Committee in the Senate. We are laser-focused on two goals: making sure that our state is on the cutting edge of future technology 5-10 years down the road and that we are prepared with the infrastructure to embrace that new technology; and training the work force to handle these new technology jobs.

We have more than 600 technology companies located in Senate District 21. These technology companies located in the district because our leaders before us had the foresight to invest in the infrastructure necessary to attract this business. The fiber optics incased in the ground along with the power grid system that supplies power to the data centers and high-tech companies were key to our growth throughout the past 20 years. I do not know what the next great technological breakthrough will be, but I do know that we need to keep our eye on the ball and stay ahead of the curve so we can be competitive in retaining and recruiting
new jobs.

Work force development will be essential for us to be competitive for the jobs of the future. Just recently, I visited a company that produces 3.1 million contact lenses a day. The company is in the process of expanding the existing plant and adding six new high-tech manufacturing lines to increase production. But, the company is having trouble finding trained people to fill the jobs. These manufacturing jobs are computer and control panel-operated jobs that demand a high skill to operate. The state, with its Quick Start program and technical colleges, is working on a program to train people to fill these 250 jobs. We cannot get a reputation that we do not have the work force to fill jobs that require highly technical skills.

Georgia was recently selected as the No. 1 state in the country for business. For Georgia to remain No. 1, we must continue to have the infrastructure and trained work force in place.