34-14-3. High-demand Career List.

(a) The State Workforce Development Board shall develop and approve a High-demand Career List that shall identify those careers most critical to the state’s current and future workforce needs. As directed by the Governor, the State Workforce Development Board shall coordinate and collaborate with the Office of Student Achievement, the Department of Education, the Technical College System of Georgia, the University System of Georgia, and the Georgia Student Finance Commission to develop and implement a data-driven methodology to determine which careers merit inclusion on High-demand Career List, regionally or state wide. The High-demand Career List shall: (1) Include the skills, certificates, licenses, diplomas, degrees, or other credentials required by employers for the high-demand careers included on the list; and (2) Be approved annually on or before December 31 by the State Workforce Development Board; (3) Be submitted annually on or before December 31 by the State Workforce Development Board to the Governor; the President of the Senate; the Speaker of the House of Representatives; the respective chairs of the House Committee on Higher Education, the Senate Education and Youth Committee, the House Committee on Education, the Senate Higher Education Committee; and the Office of Planning and Budget; and (4) Be published annually on or before December 31 on the public websites of the State Workforce Development Board, the Office of Student Achievement, the Department of Education, the Technical College System of Georgia, the University System of Georgia, and the Georgia Student Finance Commission. (b) All state agencies and political subdivisions of the state, including local school systems, shall utilize the High-demand Career List to inform their use of federal and state funding for secondary, postsecondary, and adult education programs that lead to certificates, licenses, diplomas, degrees, or other credentials in careers on the list to ensure alignment with such list and effective use of funding by such entities.