After hearing presentations from national economists, state and local workforce developers and educational officials and sitting on a panel with students at the Commodore Conyers College and Career Academy, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle was a bit overwhelmed.

“In every category I will tell you that this college and career academy is best in class,” Cagle said at the end of the 2018 Business and Education Summit at 4C Academy. “Their soft skills; their ability to greet people, look them in the eye, you just know that they are destined for great success.”

Cagle had just wrapped the 2018 Summit -- an annual celebration of college and career academies and the workforce development work they do -- when he praised 4C students, some of which he got to meet personally while sitting on a panel with them earlier in the day.

“I think the thing that’s always most exciting about our Business and Educational summit is meeting the students and talking about the things that have really impacted their lives through the educational experience through the college and career academy,” Cagle said. “Here, with the four students that were part of the robotics program and them not only being able to compete at the local and state level but nationally as well, is pretty remarkable.”

The Summit, which was hosted for the first time at 4C Academy on Monday, Aug. 27, allowed business and education leaders from around Georgia an opportunity to learn about the latest economic trends, workforce and labor data and trends in secondary and higher learning.

In addition to nationally-renowned experts like Dr. Roger Tutterow, an economist from Kennesaw State University, the summit also put local experts like 4C Academy CEO Chris Hatcher, Albany State University President Dr. Marion Fedrick and ASU’s Dr. Robert S. Owar on center stage to talk about how education is adapting to meet demands from industry partners.

The Dougherty County School System has been leveraging and growing partnerships with local industry to design career pathway options for students that both prepare them for real-world workforce demands while providing a labor force for industry partners.

The system recently announced a new partnership with both industry and higher-education partners to help create new opportunities for students. The Industrial Operations Technician Program was certified at Albany Technical College last year and is a direct response to conversations about the needs of local manufacturers like P&G’s Paper Products Plant. The program is specifically aligned to the manufacturing process employed by P&G so that successful students are better prepared to take P&G’s entrance exam and get placed with employment opportunities.

The program saw six DCSS High Students participate and complete last school term. The program at Albany Tech has so far experienced a 100% pass rate on P&G’s Reasoning Exam.