Gov. Deal Pushes To Expand Industry-Specific HOPE Grant
Construction is one of the fields Gov. Nathan Deal wants covered by the HOPE Career Grant program. Other fields he also wants to add: aviation, logistics, automotive technology and electrical line work. Expanding the Hope Career Grant program requires approval from state lawmakers.
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Gov. Nathan Deal said Monday he’ll ask state lawmakers to expand the HOPE Career Grant program, which covers full tuition for students with at least a 2.0 GPA who are pursuing certificates and degrees in fields the state has identified as in need of qualified workers.
Currently, the program covers 12 fields, including early childhood care and education, commercial truck driving, computer programming and movie production and set design. Deal wants to add five more: aviation, construction, logistics, automotive technology and electrical line work.
“Jobs are available, and we don’t have enough qualified people to take those jobs,” Deal said.
The five fields that would be added to the program were chosen based on information gathered from businesses and local economic development organizations, Deal said.
“I do hope that the next governor will at least carry this process forward,” said Deal, who will leave office at the beginning of 2019.
He said he’s unsure what expanding the program will cost.
More than 88 percent of HOPE Career Grant students found jobs in the fields they studied, and about 99 percent found jobs following graduation, Deal said.
In the latest academic year, nearly 18,000 students graduated in one of the 12 fields included in the program, according to the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG).
“When an industry sector can come to us and say, ‘We know we’re going to have tremendous growth that we will need additional workers for in the future,’ that says high demand,” said Gretchen Corbin, commissioner of TCSG. “Let’s make sure that we have programs for students to become educated to go into those areas.”
Expanding the Hope Career Grant program from 12 to 17 fields would require approval from state lawmakers.
Ahead of next year’s legislative session, House Speaker David Ralston said in addition to transportation issues, he’s putting his energy into policy efforts that will bolster economic development in rural parts of the state.
Ralston said expanding the fields covered by the HOPE Career Grant may fit into that.
“Some of the programs being discussed, I think, have a direct application to rural Georgia,” Ralston said. “I’m excited about looking at the details of that. I think that has a lot of possibility for the entire state.”
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