ATLANTA — A newly-unveiled website aims to fuel job growth in the Georgia’s growing electric vehicle field.
Georgia is near the very top of states when it comes to production of EV batteries and vehicles. Environmental Defense Fund’s analysis finds the Peach State leading in the amount of EV investments to a state, at more than $31 billion.
“It’s an expanding industry, so there are a lot of job openings,” says Karen Kirchler, Deputy Commissioner of Workforce Development at Technical College System of Georgia.
The site, ChargeForwardGA.com, features a real-time hub showing job postings and salaries. The job search allows filtering by a number of categories, including education level, wages, and location. Areas of well-paying EV jobs include manufacturing, production, engineering, logistics, warehousing, quality control, administrative, and maintenance/repair.
Charge Forward also speaks to out-of-state residents, as a “Why Georgia” page details characteristics of all of the state’s regions, the attractions in each, and gives a feel for Georgia’s quality of life. Its wage calculator may help recruit job seekers who see how far their hard-earned EV dollars can go.
“These employers, they’re competitive, particularly when you talk about global types of employers--like Kia, like Hyundai, like Rivian,” says Kirchler. “They’re offering employees really good benefits, good salaries, long-term opportunities.”
Kirchler says while the project is a specialized recruitment tool for the ever-expanding electric vehicle industry’s employers, it also has a positive ripple effect on its affiliated employers.
“Hyundai needs employees, but if their suppliers don’t have employees, Hyundai can’t be successful, right?” Kirchler explains.
It also features education and training resources, as well as career pathways to make it a one-stop hub for students, EV jobseekers, and employers.