Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle will hold a signing ceremony for the Georgia Consortium for Advanced Technical Training Program apprentices in Atlanta on Monday, August 14th.

Several Coweta County business partners and the Central Educational center will be among the participants at the ceremony, held at the State Capitol at 2:30 p.m. Monday. They are eight of the 15 Georgia manufacturing companies who will sign apprenticeship agreements with the 2nd cohort of GA CATT apprentices.

Stefanie Jehlitschka, President of German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern US Inc., will join Lt. Governor Cagle and Technical College System of Georgia Commissioner Gretchen Corbin in hosting this special event to recognize the importance of workforce development through the GA CATT apprentice program, the first of its kind for high school students in the United States.

Coweta County’s Central Educational Center will continue their existing partnerships with Winpak, E.G.O. North America, Yamaha, Grenzebach, Kason, Groov-Pin, Yokogawa and KCMA. Representatives fro the local manufacturers and CEC will participate in the ceremony.

Also participating are Rockdale County’s Career Academy and Newton College and Career Academy, who have partnered withBosch, Haver & Boecker, Nisshinbo, General Mills, Michelin, Verescence and FiberVisions. The Griffin Regional College and Career Academy has also partnered with Hoshizaki, American Woodmark and Norcom, and will participate.

The GA CATT program is the nation’s first high school German apprenticeship program, recognized by the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern U.S., Inc. Beginning in the 10th grade, high school students have the opportunity to complete their education by combining traditional high school classes, college level technical courses, and paid apprenticeship modules

GA CATT addresses the workforce needs of companies and the challenges they face when finding a skilled workforce. The three-year program combines on-the-job training and educational post-secondary learning for various industrial professions, signaling a brighter future for our students who want to pursue meaningful careers well ahead of the traditional education timeline.

Coweta’s eight industry participants, the Central Educational Center and the Coweta County Development Authority were the pioneers of the innovative program when it was launched in 2016, and the manufacturers were the first participating industries in the program.