Tim Thomas Sees Regional Cooperation as Key to Growth
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
With unemployment stubbornly high, attracting industry to the area is a top priority. State Farm agent Tim Thomas believes city and county leaders in Dougherty and Lee Counties need to work together to promote the region and attract large employers.
“Dougherty County can promote its abundant water supply and infrastructure and Lee County is known for its good schools. Working together, they can present a stronger story to attract industry to the region,” Thomas said.
According to Thomas, the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce and the Lee County Chamber of Commerce work together to promote the area. The opportunity lies in forging a closer working relationship between government leaders of the region.
“In the past, there’s been real friction between the county leaders. I think if they could work together as regional leaders it would be good for both counties,” Thomas explained.
Thomas has been a State Farm agent in Albany for 13 years. Along with two employees, Thomas offers his customers a “face you know and a live voice answering the phone.” His business is primarily individual insurance policies – auto, home and life – along with commercial insurance and a broad array of finance and banking products.
Addressing long-term unemployment
This year has been a very different year for Thomas’ State Farm agency. Business has been slow. Thomas said, “Few people are moving into the area, which is a good indicator of business activity.”
“I know a lot of people who have been out of work for two years now. That’s why it is so important that as a region, we make sure we have an environment that is attractive to businesses and industries.”
Albany’s predicament – the loss of manufacturing jobs that pay a good wage to relatively low-skilled labor – reflects the situation in many communities across the U.S. As the U.S. economy moves to more service-oriented activity and less manufacturing, lower skilled, higher-paying jobs become harder to find.
Ensuring workers are work-ready
Beyond working together as a region, Thomas believes workforce development programs and tax incentives are important to get industry to move to the area. According to Thomas, the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce works to promote the certification of local workers under the Georgia Work Ready program.
Georgia Work Ready is a voluntary workforce assessment system measuring "real world" skills that employers believe are critical to job success. The program is administered by the Governor's Office of Workforce Development, which was created in August 2006 by Governor Sonny Perdue to improve the job training and marketability of Georgia's workforce and drive future economic growth for the state.
As of May 31, 2011, more than 231,000 individuals in Georgia were successfully certified as work-ready. Of that total, 2,958 individuals were in Dougherty County and 1,328 were in Lee County. More information on the Georgia Work Ready program is available at gaworkready.org.
Tim Thomas can be reached at [email protected] or call (229) 436-0847.
