New Tool Connects Woodstock Residents To Job Openings
WOODSTOCK, GA — The Cherokee Office of Economic Development has helped generate 1,840 new jobs in the last 24 months by attracting new and expanding industry throughout the county.
However, according to the organization, that’s only part of the equation.
As COED held various forums for its biennial Existing Industries survey, corporate leaders and residents expressed the need for a central clearing house highlighting job opportunities just in the county.
In a bid to satisfy those stakeholders, COED began researching practices in areas across the country and honed in on how North Carolina’s Research Triangle connects its workforce and industry.
The end result? COED has now rolled out a Career Center tab that lists job openings in Cherokee County.
“Nearly 75 percent of job growth comes from existing industry,” said Misti Martin, COED president. “Creating an environment in Cherokee in which existing companies can thrive is crucial in job creation. In addition, our industrial parks continue to attract global industries to Cherokee. That’s also created hundreds of new jobs.”
Every time an employer lists an opportunity in Cherokee County on Indeed.com, that same listing posts to the COED Career Center in real time. COED chose Indeed.com based on its popularity and the fact that it does not charge for its service, allowing any business in Cherokee County to post a job for free.
Within 24 hours of COED’s Career Center going live, without any public announcement or campaign, the page garnered more than 300 visits. Within a week, the number went into the thousands. Current job listings include retail, engineering, marketing, project management, finance, forklift operators, production operators, quoting technicians, quality assurance and healthcare professionals.
Inalfa Roof Systems, adidas, Piolax, Thyssenkrupp Materials N.A., MSK CoverTech, Jaipur, L.A.T. Apparel and Papa John’s are just some of the most recent additions to Cherokee’s industrial parks.
As these corporations build and eventually expand their manufacturing plants, service hubs, regional and global headquarters, they will continue to generate millions of dollars for the local tax base and create any number of new jobs, the organization argues.
More and more, it appears the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) was spot-on in 2009, when it released a Regional Snapshot indicating Cherokee County would lead the Atlanta region in job growth until 2040, thus predicting a 166.3 percent increase in jobs in Cherokee alone, COED stipulates.
“Cherokee is known for its skilled, educated workforce,” said COED Vice Chair Steve Holcomb. “We now have a tool to connect people with local job opportunities. We plan to incorporate internships for students into this format as well.”
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