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Newton College and Career Academy to Hold Grand Opening, Host Annual Workforce Development Summit

Newton College and Career Academy (NCCA), a new state of the art facility for Newton County School System, will meet two milestones on Tuesday, April 17 as the school not only celebrates its official grand opening and ribbon cutting but also hosts its first event. Immediately following the ribbon cutting ceremony, to be attended by Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, NCCA will host the Annual Workforce Development Summit for local business and community leaders.

“Offering a qualified workforce remains an integral part of the recruitment of new businesses and industries to our communities,” said Shannon Davis, Director of Economic Development of Business Retention and Expansion. “As our nation and state work to address the broadening skills gap in the workforce at the macro level, the Office of Economic Development at the Covington/Newton County Chamber of Commerce is gathering stakeholders for a real-time look at aligning our efforts and replicating best practices.”

According to James Woodard, CEO/Principal of the Newton College and Career Academy, the 2012 Annual Workforce Development Summit will bring local, regional, and state agency leaders together with elected officials and leaders in the fields of business, education, and economic development to channel the discussion into a course of action.  

Scheduled panelists include Mark Butler, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Labor; Gretchen Corbin, Deputy Commissioner, Georgia Department of Economic Development; Larry Teems, Acting President of Georgia Piedmont Technical College, and John Zegers, Director, Centers of Innovation for Manufacturing.

“The official opening of Newton College and Career Academy is a milestone for career preparation in Newton County,” said Woodard. “Students will now a have a 1st class facility to begin their journey into more than 20 career pathways.  The NCCA opening coupled with synergy created from the Work Force Development Summit will help catapult Newton County into the future of preparing this community for job creation.”

The schedule of events for the day is as follows:

• 10:00am – 10:30am
  Registration and Networking

• 10:30am – 11:15am
  Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle

• 11:15am – 12pm
  Non-Summit participants – Tour of NCCA

• 11:15am – 12:15pm
  Opening Remarks and Panel 1 Discussion

• The State of Business
  Panelists: Mark Butler, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Labor, Roger Harrison, Senior VP Economic Development, Covington/Newton Office of Economic Development, and Gretchen Corbin, Deputy Commissioner, Georgia Department of Economic Development

• 12:15pm – 12:30pm
  Break and Networking

• 12:30pm – 1:45pm
  Lunch and Keynote Speaker Beth Herman, Regional Director, Atlanta Metro Region, Manpower

• 1:45pm – 2:00pm
  Break and Networking

• 2:00pm – 3:00pm
  Tour of Newton College and Career Academy

• 3:00pm – 4:15pm
  Panel 2 Discussion

• What’s next-closing the skills gap?
  Panelists: Larry Teems, Acting President, Georgia Piedmont Technical College, James Woodard, CEO Newton College and Career Academy, Candy Morris, Human Resource Director, Nisshinbo Automotive and John Zegers, Director, Centers of Innovation for Manufacturing
  

• 4:15pm – 4:30pm – Questions and Closing Remarks

For more information contact James Woodard at woodard.james@newton.k12.ga.us.