A Film Training Complex in Doraville Shows How Georgia's Creative Economy Intersects with CTE Trades

When people think about Georgia's film and television industry, they picture actors and directors -- not the carpenters building sets, the electricians running power to soundstages, or the culinary teams feeding 200-person crews on 14-hour shoot days. Yet these are precisely the roles where CTE-trained graduates find work in an industry that generates billions in annual economic impact for Georgia. The opening of the Georgia Film Academy's 32,000-square-foot training complex at the Assembly Studios campus in Doraville creates a dedicated pipeline into these positions, and its MARTA accessibility means students across Metro Atlanta can reach it without a car.

The facility itself sits on the former General Motors assembly plant site and offers courses leading to industry-recognized certificates in Film and Television Production, Post-Production, and Live Production including Streaming and Esports. Students can complete a stand-alone certificate in 18 credit hours or apply credits toward associate and bachelor's degrees. The academy operates as a joint venture between the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia, with curriculum developed alongside NBCUniversal, Disney, Marvel, Netflix, Sony, and HBO.

What makes this relevant to CTE students beyond media arts is the breadth of production workforce needs. Set construction requires carpentry skills -- Georgia carpenters earn a median of $43,120, and construction supervisors reach $75,410. On-set catering operations draw on culinary competencies; line cooks in Georgia earn a median of $29,170, but sous chefs and executive chefs in the state reach $51,630, and the line cook occupation is projected to grow 8.8% nationally. Electrical work for stage lighting and power distribution connects directly to the electrical pathway, where Georgia apprentice electricians start at a $46,900 median with a clear progression to journeyman ($58,860) and master electrician.

Since its founding in 2015, the Georgia Film Academy has trained thousands of students for entry-level production positions. The new Doraville facility expands that capacity at a time when Georgia continues to attract major studio investment. For students in CTE pathways that might seem unrelated to entertainment -- welding, construction, hospitality, electrical -- the creative economy represents a growing employer base that values exactly the hands-on technical skills their programs develop.