Georgia needs a manufacturing workforce. This Carrollton program can help.
To train the workforce of the future, we need to think outside the box.
Through career academies, dual enrollment programs, and partnerships with technical colleges and universities, Georgia schools offer students a range of career paths. Still, the need for an advanced manufacturing workforce is only growing. To fill the thousands of technical jobs we’ll need for our state’s manufacturing sector, we need to look to deeper public-private partnerships to create truly innovative solutions.
This is why earlier this month we launched the second annual Georgia AIM Week in Carrollton, highlighting a program that connects school and career pathways through a public-private partnership. At Southwire’s 12 for Life facility, high school students take classes, learn valuable job skills and bring home a good paycheck.
Connecting education and career pathways in manufacturing is foundational for Georgia AIM, or Georgia Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing. We support programs across the state to inspire innovation in K-12 students, connect new graduates to our Technical College System of Georgia and universities, and support programs that foster apprenticeships, fellowships and internships.
The program fostered at 12 for Life is truly groundbreaking, and every company facing a workforce shortage should look to it as a solution. Founded in 2006, 12 For Life was created by Southwire executives concerned about the then-high dropout rate at Carroll County High School and the impact it was having on Southwire’s ability to hire employees at its manufacturing facilities there.
Working with Carroll County school officials, Southwire, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of cable and wire, invested $2.5 million to build a factory designed to address both issues. This meant providing school district-run classrooms where students would spend part of their day catching up on credits needed to graduate. Then, they would shift to the manufacturing floor, where they learned how to roll and package wire sold in home-goods stores across the country. To qualify for the program, students are selected based on interest, parental approval, financial need, poor grades and poor attendance.
Students at 12 for Life are held to a high standard, and they learn to expect that of themselves. The students are paid above minimum wage and receive financial, career and life skills counseling. They also receive bonuses for good grades and are eligible for scholarships to college or technical school.
But just as important is the training they receive in the latest technologies that manufacturers need now and in the future. Students can earn a range of technical certificates and attend innovative classes, such as an introduction to robotics course in the facility’s new mechatronics lab. This specialized training will help them land full-time jobs after graduation at Southwire and other manufacturers, with salaries starting at $50,000 to $60,000 and up.
The community also benefits from the program. Since 12 for Life began, the high school graduation rate for economically disadvantaged students like those participating in the program has increased since 2012 from 65% to 97%, according to Carroll County school officials. And Southwire found 12 For Life students were 30% to 40% more productive than other workers on a 12-hour shift. The facility, expected to break even in five years after opening, turned a profit three months after it opened and is a case study that was taught at Harvard Business School.
During the Georgia AIM Week stop at the facility, 12 For Life students hosted 200 Carroll County middle schoolers who got a tour of the factory, classrooms, labs and the Georgia AIM Mobile Studio in hopes of inspiring the next generation of participants. So far, more than 2,500 students have participated in 12 For Life. The program has expanded to Florence, Alabama, with a separate facility there. It is indeed a model worth replicating.
For Georgia to excel in advanced manufacturing, we need a ready workforce. Our schools are learning that AI and manufacturing play a crucial role in Georgia’s future, but we need our businesses across the state to recognize the gaps and opportunities in their own workforce. The 12 for Life program offers an exciting way for manufacturers to connect with their communities, lift up at-risk students and thrive with a future-ready workforce.
Donna Ennis is associate vice president for community-based engagement at the Georgia Tech Enterprise Institute and is co-director of Georgia Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing. Cameron Searcy is a plant manager for Southwire. He runs the 12 For Life plant.
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