Ogeechee Technical College brings more than $29 million to the region, according to a recently released report.
Dr. Jeffrey M. Humphreys, the director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business, said in the report that OTC's economic impact is $29,515,195. He completed the study of the Technical College System of Georgia's economic impact across the state for fiscal 2012.
The study also found that Ogeechee Tech's spending results in 393 public- and private-sector jobs. Humphreys reported that statewide, for each job created on a Technical College System campus, one off-campus job exists because of college-related expenditures. One in every 264 nonfarm jobs in Georgia, he said, occur because of spending associated with a Technical College System college.
"The fundamental finding is that each of the TCSG colleges, including Ogeechee Technical College, creates substantial economic impacts in terms of output, value added, labor income and employment," Humphreys said. "These economic impacts demonstrate that continued emphasis on technical colleges as an enduring pillar of the regional economy translates into jobs, higher incomes, and greater production of goods and services for local households and businesses."
The system commissioned Humphreys to calculate the importance that spending connected to the state's technical colleges has for their service delivery areas, which range in size from two to 11 counties. Ogeechee Tech serves Bulloch, Evans and Screven counties. Several categories of college expenditures were reviewed for the study, including personnel salaries and fringe benefits, college operations, capital construction projects and student spending.
The result, put in the context of the taxpayer investment, indicated that the $6,651,253 state appropriation for Ogeechee Technical College in 2012 supported the enrollment of 3,220 students, generated nearly $30 million in local spending, and helped to sustain almost 400 college-related jobs.
"The direct and indirect economic and employment impact of Ogeechee Technical College is significant to this region," Ogeechee Tech President Dr. Dawn Cartee said. "The college is also an economic engine when it comes to helping attract business and industry to the area."
Statewide, the $315 million state appropriation for the Technical College System in 2012 helped to train almost 153,000 technical college students, contributed to $1.2 billion in direct and indirect spending in communities throughout Georgia, and was a factor in almost 15,000 public- and private-sector jobs.
"The spending factor alone is a sizable return on the state's investment in the TCSG, and it would be significantly higher if we were to add the economic value that our graduates create once they leave college and meet employers' needs for a skilled workforce," said Ron Jackson, the system commissioner.
The study did not attempt to measure the value in terms of the increased earnings of Technical College System graduates or the colleges' role in helping the state to attract and retain companies with high-skill, good-paying jobs. Nor did it calculate the impact of the system's Quick Start program, a state economic development incentive that provides customized training free of charge to new and expanding businesses.
The full report, The Economic Impact of Technical College System of Georgia Institutions on their Service Delivery Area Economies in FY 2012, is available online at https://tcsg.edu/download/TCSG_Impact_2012_Economic_Activity_1.2014.pdf