T E CH NIC AL
S UC CE SS Teamwork ensures apprenticeship program part of local education
Coweta’s third class of apprentices at the Georgia State capital signing ceremony. Left to right: Mark Whitlock, CEO of CEC; WINPAK- Mike Cruise, Hitachi- John Michalewicz;, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, KasonBill Zeller, Grenzebach- John Fluker and E.G.O.- David Keller
by: Katie Anderson When it comes to improving the workforce, the key to success often requires thinking outside the box. And one apprenticeship program gaining steam in Coweta County proves it pays to do your homework and develop new approaches to education.
The Georgia Consortium for Advanced Technical Training program (GA CATT) is a source of hometown pride, and rightfully so. It was created in response to a need for skilled labor — specifically, industrial mechanics, electricians and machinists. Coweta County industries worked with a team of local and state partners to fill a skills gap through the formal apprenticeship program, which was modeled after a successful German strategy. The program is offered to high school sophomores, who can complete their education by combining traditional high
school classes, college-level technical courses, and paid apprenticeship modules. In turn, participating businesses potentially are training future employees. Student apprentices graduate with a high school diploma, college certifications toward an associate degree, and an internationally recognized apprentice certificate. In 2015, the program’s steering committee worked to get support for Senate Bill 2, a bill that gave school systems the ability to award a high school diploma to students who dually enroll in specific high school
and college classes. The pilot program began in Coweta in 2016, and the first group of apprentices will graduate this spring. “In 2019, CEC and the Coweta GA CATT team will begin its recruiting for a next ‘cohort’ to participate in the Advanced Manufacturing Technician (Industrial Mechanic) Apprenticeship with approximately nine companies expected to be involved,” said Mark Whitlock, CEO of the Central Educational Center. “We expect the companies, in total, will want nine new apprentices to start that threeyear program during their sophomore year in high school.”
MAKING IT
HAPPEN
The program’s steering committee included Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle, the German American Chamber of Commerce, the Technical College System of Georgia, CEC, the Coweta County School System, West Georgia Technical College, an industry consortium (Grenzebach, E.G.O., Yamaha, Kason, Yokogawa, Winpak, Kawasaki, and Groov-Pin), the Coweta County Development Authority, and Georgia Tech’s Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
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