Georgia is not the only state suffering from the serious after-effects of the recession, with double-digit unemployment rates wrecking havoc on the economy. But when it comes to the call center industry, Georgia is certainly an outlier, posting phenomenal growth even during the depth of the recession.

According to theGeorgia Department of Economic Development, thirteen call center operations have located or expanded in Georgia since July 2008. This upward trend can best be seen in Atlanta, a city that ranks fifth nationwide with over 105,000 call center jobs. More growth is to be expected, as many companies are now finding the right conditions to bring offshore work back to the US.

So why are companies likeGEICO,T-Mobile, andDelta Air Linessetting up and expanding their contact centers in Georgia? Everything can be traced back to a robust and attractive call center workforce. In fact, Georgia's workforce was ranked No. 1 in the nation in 2009 byCNBC.com.

When it comes to professional education for the contact center industry, Georgia is clearly ahead of the pack. Twenty-two colleges offer customer service certificate programs. It probably has the highest concentration of industry association chapters in the US. And, by the end of next month, Georgia will add yet another impressive accomplishment to its list of accolades in the contact center industry: it will boast the highest concentration of management-level and advanced training programs and professional certification preparatory courses in the country in 2011.

RCCSP Professional Education Allianceis returning to Georgia with its most comprehensiveContact Center Congressto date – a week-long training marathon hosted at Atlanta'sGeorgian Terrace Hotelthat includes a total of 10 different intensive-learningcall center certificationandtrainingcourses from six different tracks: Fundamentals, Tactical Management, Strategic Direction, Performance Optimization, Technology Management, and Operations & Engineering. The mix-and-match format will allow professionals to select those tracks that address their individual training needs.