ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia high-schoolers who want immediate experience as factory workers could more easily become apprentices under a new $1.2 million state apprenticeship program being considered in the state Senate.
The Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee on Wednesday debated Senate Bill 379, which would create the new program under the Technical College System of Georgia.
“Our goal is to connect the business community, the employers, with employees in certain high demand fields,” said Sen. Brian Strickland, a McDonough Republican.
The new plan would build off existing efforts, including a federal apprenticeship program and a German-certified apprenticeship program that trains manufacturing technicians in Coweta County.
Georgia had just under 9,000 students in federally funded apprenticeship programs in 2020, according to figures provided by Strickland, but South Carolina, with less than half of Georgia’s population, has more than 20,000 federally-funded apprenticeship.