An initiative through the Cherokee Office of Economic Development is seeking to enlighten students about need for a skilled workforce.
The Be Pro Be Proud Georgia (BPBPG) campaign travels to high school campuses around the state with a 40-foot rig that serves as a mobile workshop highlighting skilled technical jobs.
BPBPG was at Gilmer High School last Thursday and Friday, and over 150 students got explore available career paths. BPBPG has spent most of its time in the metro-Atlanta area, and its arrival at GHS marked its first venture to north Georgia.
Gilmer High’s work-based learning coordinator Mikella Rutter was introduced to the initiative at the state level. District coordinators were encouraged to get on BPBPG’s waiting list, which Rutter said was close to 500.
She did not expect GHS to get the call, but it came last week and the rig was on campus by Thursday.
“We’re really excited,” Rutter said. “I hope this is something we can do maybe not every year, but maybe bi-annually to come out here and get a new group of kids introduced.
“We’ve had a real excellent response,” Rutter said. “I think a lot of students were genuinely excited to hear about something other than college. We talk about college a lot, which is important, but this is important, too.”
BPBPG’s operations manager Scott Callaway was on site at GHS and helped start the program four years ago in Arkansas. It has since expanded to South Carolina and arrived in Georgia in 2019.
“This is an effort to get the message to our students all over the state about the skilled workforce, the opportunities, the technical skills needed and how to get certified and get jobs,” Callaway said.
“You have a skilled workforce with tons of jobs out there available that don’t take a lot to get into but pay really high wages. Why aren’t we taking advantage of that?”
There is currently one rig in Georgia. Because the waiting list is growing by the day, plans are to build a second one to reach as many schools as possible. Each rig features 13 skills in the fields of health care, welding, class-A trucking, plumbing and robotics.
“There are five major categories that basically run our country, and they are healthcare, transportation, technology, construction and manufacturing,” Callaway said.
“If you have a skill in one of those fields, you have income for the rest of your life. Within those five, you have these 13 different subcategories. We talk in depth about these and how to get certified.”
The goal of BPBPG to get at least 10 percent of students who are exposed to the program to “join the movement,” which entails signing up with BPBPG. Students are then given a pathway to reach their job of choice. Currently, 25 percent of students have shown interest after seeing what BPBPG has to offer.
BPBPG is funded through private companies in the aforementioned fields who support its cause.