Page 47 - Coweta NCG 2017

enjamin Franklin said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I West Georgia Technical College. Other perks of the
may remember, involve me and I will learn.” That was exactly program include an hourly wage, covered tuition costs
the kind of thinking that led to the creation of Georgia’s first on any remaining credits to obtain an associate degree, a job
Bexperiential learning, German-style apprenticeship program. offer from the company with which they interned and, of course,
The Georgia Consortium of Advanced Technical Training (GA CATT) an invaluable set of skills and experience that puts them at the top
Program is an innovative plan based on involving high school students of their age group.
in career fields so that they learn valuable workplace ethics, skillsets and “We invest to grow our own talent for the future,” Martin
concepts that will give them the experience and confidence they need in says about Grenzebach’s involvement in
their future workplaces. The GA CATT Program is the first of its kind in the the program.
nation and was created in partnership between Georgia’s Office of the And to him, the other seven participating
Lieutenant Governor and the German American Chamber of Commerce companies, the German Apprenticeship
of the Southern U.S. The program was launched with the support of Model, and Mr. Franklin’s idea of
the Central Educational Center (CEC), Coweta County’s College and experiential learning, Coweta
Career Academy and eight manufacturing companies in Coweta County, County says “Danke.”
including Grenzebach, E.G.O. Yamaha, Kason, Yokogawa, Winpack,
Kawasaki and Groov-Pin.
Martin Pleyer, COO at Grenzebach, is very partial to the program
which begins when students are in tenth grade, and continues until the
student graduates. “The most important part is to get young people at
an early age so you can still form them and train them in the necessary
skills,” Martin said. “I’m a firm believer that the earlier you can touch a
young person with the skills they need, the bigger success of getting the
skills instilled into that person.”
One of the program’s most innovative aspects is the reversal
of the stigma that a technical education is inferior to a college
education. “People say that if you do not have a four-year
degree, you won’t have a good life or a good job, and I do not
believe that,” said Martin.
In fact, according to Martin, this program takes students who were
not on a college placement track and teaches them skills and provides
them with the opportunity of a great career.
While many people may believe a technical track to be easier than a
college placement, Martin describes just how challenging the program
can be. “Students apply for these apprenticeships just like applying for a
job,” he said. “We are not giving these away. You have to work to get your
spot in this program.”
Rigorous yet rewarding, by the time the student graduates high
school, he or she will have earned a high school diploma, German
apprenticeship certificate and many times, an associate degree from

Prosperity German-Style Martin Pleyer

APPRENTICESHIP MODEL IS DE VEL OPING

C OWET A ’ S WORKFORCE ~ B Y D A N A B R O W N

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