Atlanta Global Studies Center Co-hosts “The Future of Atlanta’s Global Workforce”

Posted February 5, 2020

The Atlanta Global Studies Center (AGSC), in collaboration with the Greater Atlanta Coalition for Global Education and Research (GAcGEAR), SAGE and the Mayor’s Office of Atlanta, hosted “The Future of Atlanta’s Global Workforce” event on February 3rd. The networking event invited industry leaders, higher education representatives and community members for an intimate conversation about educating for global competence and careers.

Susan K. Hogan, Future of Work and Behavioral Economics Lead at Deloitte, led a presentation titled, “Future of Work: Educating on Global Competence and Careers.” Ms. Hogan’s research demonstrated how certain human skills will remain critical for success despite the rise of automation and artificial intelligence.

Trevor Williams, Managing Editor of Global Atlanta, led the panel discussion “The Future of Atlanta’s Global Workforce,” featuring Amy Lancaster-King, Director of Workforce Development at the Metro Atlanta Chamber; Ron McMurtie, Chief Marketing Officer at Sage; Azim Barodawala, CEO of Volantio; and Shannon Benham, Director of Global Talent Acquisition at UPS.

The panel covered such important topics as diversity, inclusivity, job skills, the value of global experiences and language learning, and the competition that Atlanta faces to attract highly skilled talent. The panelists also shared their insights into global job trends, stories of their career path and their experiences in various positions and locales. They also offered many practical lessons and suggestions for new graduates and job seekers as well as young learners emphasizing the need for them to see the long-term benefits of language learning early on.

The event concluded with presentations by high school students in Sage’s internship program on integrating AI into addressing United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

“The conversations we had today succinctly illustrated the issues being addressed by the GAcGEAR. We all need to work together to prepare our local talent to meet the global challenges of the future and raise Atlanta's profile as a global competitor. We had a remarkable turnout and inspiring conversations and I am so happy and proud about the positive impact we are having and the leadership we are providing. We look forward to building on the momentum from today's event and to forging productive collaborations across sectors.” said Anna Stenport, Founding Co-director of AGSC and Chair of the School of Modern Languages at Georgia Tech.

GAcGEAR mobilizes federally and state-supported entities that promote linguistic and global competence in an ambitious, collaborative effort to expand capacity for global and intercultural engagement throughout the Greater Atlanta region.

GAcGEAR seeks to align K-20 global educational programs in the region with the greater international economic efforts currently underway by numerous state and local agencies by fostering a dialogue to create a unified education and economic vision for workforce development in the area of language education and global competencies for the greater Atlanta region. GAcGEAR is coordinated by the AGSC, a partnership of Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University and a National Resource Center funded by a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Visit the AGSC website for more information on GAcGEAR.