Georgia Piedmont center aims to build transportation workforce; DeKalb official cites $6 million secured

Speakers at a ground‑breaking event described a new transportation and logistics training center at Georgia Piedmont Technical College as a major regional workforce development effort. "We have created the largest such facility in the Southeast Region," Speaker 2 said.

The center is intended to provide training for commercial driver licensing (CDL), electrical line workers and logistics professionals, presenters said. Speaker 1 called the facility "workforce development in our entire region," saying partners have worked on the project for eight years and expected it to "change lives."

A Georgia Power Company representative, Speaker 3, said the utility will partner with Georgia Piedmont to expand career pathways. "At Georgia Power Company, we certainly believe in being a part of a growing Georgia," Speaker 3 said.

Speaker 4, a DeKalb County representative, said the county began work on the project with Doctor Holston and "secured that $6,000,000 investment along with members of the DeKalb Delegation from the state of Georgia," a figure cited by the speaker as supporting the center.

Other speakers described the region as suffering an "education desert" for transportation and logistics training and framed the center as a way to create a pipeline from education into higher‑paying jobs. Speaker 6 said the investment "creates a strong foundation for our families, creating a pipeline" for students to move into careers.

Event speakers framed the center as a public‑private effort linking local government, educational institutions and corporate partners to address workforce shortages. No formal vote or policy action was recorded at the event; presenters urged continued support so the training programs can move forward and serve the region.