CGTC Opens Its Doors to Regional Apprenticeship Opportunities

July 27, 2017


Warner Robins, Ga. – Central Georgia Technical College (CGTC) recently hosted the inaugural Georgia Regional Apprenticeship Development Symposium on the Warner Robins campus, an event geared toward current and continued engagement with local employers on apprenticeship opportunities.

“In outreach efforts to local business and industries, CGTC has heard a consistent interest from companies wanting to explore more formal apprenticeship programs,” said Andrea Griner, vice president for economic development at CGTC. “We are excited that Central Georgia Technical College has recently been approved as a Registered Apprenticeship Sponsor by the U.S. Department of Labor.”
With the interest at hand, and as a new Registered Apprenticeship Sponsor, the College and its Economic Development division gathered local business leaders, program chairs, and a panel of representatives from the U.S. Department of Labor (USDL), Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDED), and the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) to discuss apprenticeship opportunities and workforce development.
During the Symposium, experts presented to local companies on how to establish new apprenticeship programs and their overall benefits.
Three experts available to companies in the panel included Kenny Adkins, apprenticeship specialist for TCSG, Justin Haight, program manager for GDED’s Workforce Division, and Bill Kraus, state director for the Office of Apprenticeship for USDL, each forming as Adkins said, a “three-legged stool” that together brings resources to the table for the benefit of local apprenticeship.
“With all of these agencies, it is better to work together to bring these full-packages to our employers in the state, whether through funding, community connections, man power, or other resources,” Haight said.
What is done with these packages, or development strategies and information, and how resources are used to create apprenticeship programs, are left up to CGTC and local companies. The first step began at the Symposium where companies interacted with program chairs at the college to learn more about how their curriculum can align with the workforce needs of a company.
“The school benefits because of its closer to industry, and the industry and economy benefit because you gain a skilled workforce,” said Kraus, who has seen the benefits and success of technical colleges engaging with companies for apprenticeship opportunities across the state and nation.
“The whole state benefits because you retain quality workers who are trained in the latest workforce skills,” Kraus added.
Adkins, Haight and Krauss, said the close and connected work of the CGTC Office of Economic Development and the Office of Academic Affairs was key to the College’s designation as a Registered Apprentice and the partnerships that will develop from it.
For more information about the College’s designation as a Registered Apprenticeship Sponsor, contact Andrea Griner at (478) 757-3551 or agriner@centralgatech.edu
From left to right: A panel lead by Bill Kraus, state director for the Office of Apprenticeship for the U.S. Department of Labor, Justin Haight, program manager for the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Workforce Division, Kenny Adkins, apprenticeship specialist for the Technical College System of Georgia, and Andrea Griner, vice president of Economic Development for CGTC, discuss apprenticeship opportunities during the inaugural Georgia Regional Apprenticeship Development Symposium on the Warner Robins campus of CGTC.
From left to right: A panel lead by Bill Kraus, state director for the Office of Apprenticeship for the U.S. Department of Labor, Justin Haight, program manager for the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Workforce Division, Kenny Adkins, apprenticeship specialist for the Technical College System of Georgia, and Andrea Griner, vice president of Economic Development for CGTC, discuss apprenticeship opportunities during the inaugural Georgia Regional Apprenticeship Development Symposium on the Warner Robins campus of CGTC.