Georgia has served as the ideal setting for growth for many businesses, with the state’s economy providing an environment that fosters success. But, like many states across the country, Georgia is navigating unique challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the aftershock of the pandemic continuing to disrupt the way business is done, Georgia-based companies are looking for solutions to labor shortages, supply chain issues and more. For The Coca-Cola Company, overcoming these challenges is about more than business growth – it’s an opportunity to support local partners, communities and the economy in its home state.
For 136 years, The Coca-Cola Company has been refreshing the world – and it all started on May 8, 1886, in Atlanta where the first Coca-Cola was served at Jacob’s Pharmacy. Coca-Cola’s Georgia-born heritage has played an integral role in the success of the company, which has grown with its bottling partners and customers to serve a total portfolio of beverages to countless people in communities across Georgia, and around the world.
For many companies, pandemic-era challenges have impacted a variety of business functions that are critical to success, including the supply chain, which in Georgia relies heavily on the trucking industry. In Georgia, the trucking industry moves more than 435 million tons of goods across the state each year as the logistics and transportation hub of the Southeast (Georgia Department of Transportation, 2019). Since the start of the pandemic, the industry has lost 6 percent of its workers nationally, compounding an existing driver shortage that is expected to top 160,000 by 2028 (American Trucking Associations, 2019).
To help support Georgia’s economy and provide opportunities for Georgians, in April The Coca-Cola Company announced a $1 million donation to the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) Foundation for its system’s Commercial Truck Driving Program.
“As residents and businesses across the state work to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to invest in our communities and provide opportunities that will improve the lives of our fellow Georgians,” said Alfredo Rivera, President of The Coca-Cola Company’s North America Operating Unit. “We are proud of our Georgia roots and will continue to do our part to keep Georgia strong.”
The $1 million investment marks The Coca-Cola Company’s latest effort to help facilitate Georgia’s economic development and support critical job training and opportunities across its home state. By creating 11 new full-time instructor roles and two part-time instructor roles, the investment supports TCSG’s greatest need, recruiting and retaining talented trainers. In addition, the donation supplements the $8.32 million of support from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER II) that will provide facility upgrades, with the goal of doubling enrollment of commercial drivers across Georgia from 1,705 to 3,410 in 2023. Finally, this investment aims to ensure more drivers are in the pipeline to help fill trucking industry jobs with local Coca-Cola bottler Coca-Cola UNITED and other businesses across the state.
To drive further support, The Coca-Cola Company also announced “Delivering the Future: The Coca-Cola System & Technical College System of Georgia Truck Tour” to raise awareness of TCSG’s Commercial Truck Driving Program and career opportunities with local bottler Coca-Cola UNITED.
“The Coca-Cola truck will make stops in five communities across the state, including Savannah, Athens, Vidalia, Macon and Tifton,” said Gianetta Jones, Vice President and Chief People Officer, Coca-Cola UNITED. “In Georgia, we’re fortunate to be able to hire drivers from TCSG’s world-class Commercial Truck Driving Program. Our goal is to raise awareness of the program and trucking industry opportunities available right in our home state, most specifically the 85 open commercial driving opportunities currently available with Coca-Cola UNITED.”
The “Delivering the Future: The Coca-Cola System & Technical College System of Georgia Truck Tour” will make five stops from May 17 to May 26 and will offer entertainment, refreshments and activities along with the opportunity to learn about Coca-Cola UNITED job opportunities and TCSG’s Commercial Truck Driving Program enrollment process.
“We are grateful for our partnership with The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola UNITED and look forward to leveraging this investment to attract more best-in-class trainers who are the foundation of our program,” said Greg Dozier, Commissioner, Technical College System of Georgia. “With the expansion of the program, this investment will allow us to prepare more commercial truck drivers to enter the industry, helping to ensure the continued transport of goods upon which we rely across the state.”
