RISE’s Job Palooza connects regional workers with job openings
The Regional Industry Support Enterprise held its Job Palooza at Enmarket Arena Thursday for job seekers across its eight member counties.
- A 2023 study projected the Savannah region could face a deficit of over 10,000 jobs by 2031.
- Multiple organizations are collaborating to address the workforce shortage, including focusing on military families and workers with disabilities.
- Regional Industry Support Enterprise (RISE) is leading efforts across eight counties to bolster the local workforce.
A study to assess ongoing workforce development efforts in the Savannah region will be conducted in 2026. Regional Industry Support Enterprise (RISE) President and CEO Anna Chafin shared the information Wednesday afternoon during the Savannah Downton Business Association‘s (SDBA) October luncheon.
She along with five other workforce development leaders were featured panelists for the discussion topic of “Building Savannah’s Workforce.” Leading off the panel, SDBA’s Executive Director Mia Mance posed the question of Savannah’s looming workforce deficits to Chafin. She responded with the data that was shared initially back in 2023’s Savannah Joint Development Authority (JDA) (the four-county regional economic development organization) Workforce Study, which was conducted by Wadley Donovan Gutshaw Consulting. The study noted that by 2031 the region could see 10,000+ jobs unfilled if it did nothing to bolster its workforce.
Chafin cited RISE as one key regional response to the workforce challenge. RISE now has eight member counties who have aligned under the organization, which has made in-roads across working groups such as education, military and underrepresented workers. Also, RISE’s partnerships with just about all the other organizations represented on the panel have elevated its efforts to get ahead of the job need. One such partnership was last month’s Job Palooza that connected regional employers with thousands of job seekers.
Other panelists at Wednesday’s luncheon included Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce Vice President for Governmental Affairs Jared Downs, WorkSource Coastal Georgia Executive Director Sheron Morgan, Savannah Technical College President Ryan Foley, B&B Care, Inc. President and CEO Heather Smith, and EmployAbility CEO Brendan Ferrara.
Broad workforce development efforts underway
The luncheon provided an opportunity for the organizations to highlight each’s role in tackling the regional workforce need.
Mance led off the event by introducing Emcee Ell Marchese, who spoke about the importance of hiring people with diverse or different abilities. Marchese is the daughter of local commercial construction company owner Joe Marchese (Wednesday’s event sponsor). The younger Marchese shared her experience working part-time at an Effingham County elementary school as an example for the small businesses in the room to consider hiring those who make up the underrepresented workforce. Her talk was preceded by the showing a video featuring “The Hiring Chain Song” by Sting, which tells the story of how a baker’s choice to hire a person with a disability influenced other business owners to be more open minded themselves.
Smith and Ferrara spoke about services that both B&B Care, Inc. and EmployAbility offer to support employers who are curious about best practices for hiring people with disabilities or who are differently abled. Both organizations were framed as matchmakers that connect interested employers with ready and able workers like Marchese.
Ferrara talked about how Stratton Leopald, of Leopald’s Ice Cream fame, worked with EmployAbility to create a position with people with disabilities in mind. He said 10% of Leopald’s staff comes from EmployAbility now. Smith told employers that there is not much they need to change or do to hire differently abled folks.
“We come in with the idea of making accommodations that can be truly as simple a checklist to help someone stay on task,” she said.
Downs talked about the Chamber’s work to advocate for legislation that supports military members and their families to encourage retention after they complete their service. He cited the Military Retirement Income Tax Exemption as well as 2024’s House Bill 880, which allowed military spouses to use an existing license in good standing from another state to obtain employment in Georgia on a shorter timeline. He gave the example of a spouse who might be a teacher, who now could apply for a Georgia teaching license and receive it before the family has to move due to a reassignment from out of state.
Morgan highlighted WorkSource Coastal Georgia’s recent efforts in collaboration with other local groups to pull off three job fairs in the wake of the International Paper’s closure announcement in August. She said the two fairs in Chatham County and one in Bryan County had more than 2,700 attendees. She said the organization also evaluated over 600 resumes at the fairs. She also shared a story about an employee who had been at International Paper for 52 years. She said she had to explain, “When you applied for this job, you filled out a paper application…we don’t apply for jobs like that anymore.“
She encouraged job seekers, particularly those who have been laid off, to be open to learning new skills and exploring opportunities that may be outside their past experience but require transferrable skills.
Foley reinforced Savannah Tech’s focus on removing barriers to education and certification training for those coming up in their careers as well as those, like former International Paper employees, undergoing career transitions. He also noted Savannah Tech’s flexible scheduling options, such as weekend cohorts and online courses, to better meet the needs of students’ busy lives. As far as addressing the workforce challenge, Foley said the college not only offers many apprenticeships, certification and degree programs to traditional and lifelong learners, it also has embedded programs in all the local counties. He said its high school welding program in Bryan County currently has 63 students enrolled.
All of these organizations, among many others, have been taking action over the past few years to catch up with the region’s ever-growing job opportunities thanks in large part to direct and indirect positions stemming from Hyundai’s presence. The automaker’s metaplant in Ellabell and affiliate suppliers have created a high demand for trained advanced manufacturing industry professionals even as the local economic progress slows, according to Georgia Southern University’s latest monitor report.
A clear picture of the results of RISE’s and others’ workforce efforts will not be known until the new workforce study is conducted in 2026. The study will be funded by a Georgia Power grant, but which company might complete the study and when exactly it will start remain in development at this time.
Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at JSchwartzburt@gannett.com and JoeInTheKnow_SMN on Instagram.
