ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Finding qualified workers can be tough in this tight labor market.
But a new bill might make it easier to fill those government positions and make it easier for Georgians to find more jobs they’re qualified for.
When it comes to hiring qualified workers, State Senator John Albers (District 56) says he wants to make sure the state of Georgia can attract some of the best talents out there.
“We don’t want to miss the opportunity to miss the best and the brightest because the qualifications don’t match up to the actual position anymore,” said Sen. Albers.
That’s why he’s sponsoring a bill that would allow the Department of Administrative Services to examine qualifications and educational requirements for state government jobs.
Meaning, the bill would allow experience requirements and college degree requirements to be dropped for state jobs where it’s not truly necessary.
“Industries have changed, technology has changed, regulations have changed, and we just want to take time to reassess where they are, that they are aligned properly,” said Sen Albers.
Kennesaw State Economics Professor Dr. Mikhail Melnik says the bill would allow the state to draw from a bigger workforce in an already tight labor market.
“It will induce more workers to apply for these jobs, so that will be an improvement,” said Melnik.
But he adds the state has to be thorough if and when it decides to reduce requirements to maintain quality workers.
“This also has to be coupled with some form of quality control because by reducing the requirements and drawing more labor, we are reducing the requirements so it’s a question of quality versus quantity.”
“There are some jobs that are absolutely going to require a four-year degree, even a Masters or a Doctorate degree,” said Sen. Albers.
He says state job qualifications would be examined carefully, and adds what he doesn’t want are Georgians thinking they’re not qualified for a position that they could actually excel at.
”We wouldn’t want to dissuade someone from applying to maybe a technology job that requires a college degree and ten years of experience if the technology was only invented 18 months ago,” said Sen. Albers.
Albers says the bill just passed out of the Senate Government Oversight Committee on Monday and has a chance to reach the senate floor later this week.
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Source: wtvm
