Meet Martin Pleyer – he led the team in Coweta County to get the first German Apprenticeship Model approved in both Georgia and the United States.
Martin Pleyer got his first taste of manufacturing as a teenager, when he chose to work in the industry as part of his apprenticeship program, in which every teen in Germany required to choose a path, and has continued to work in the industry since.
Five years ago Martin and his family moved to the United States for an opportunity to work at Grenzebach Corporation in Newnan, Georgia. He quickly noticed that a quarter of the plant floor workforce would be retiring in the next five years. Having immediately gotten involved in Coweta County, he used his influence in the community to garner interest from partners and other manufacturers to help develop a similar apprenticeship program. In 2015, Georgia lawmakers enacted Senate Bill 2, allowing for the apprenticeship model to take place in the states.
And on May 16th, Lt. Governor, Casey Cagle, officially launched the first path, Industrial Mechanic, in this apprenticeship model, termed Georgia Consortium of Advanced Technical Training (GA CATT) Program, allowing high school students the chance to work in manufacturing 80% of the time, while attending school 20% of the time, but still graduating on time, while earning technical college credit, and gaining hands-on experience working in industry.
Read Martin’s story and view his video as he takes you through his journey to launch the first German apprenticeship model program in the country and discusses how it can be replicated across the state of Georgia.
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The team members at Beaulieu — a leading floor covering manufacturer headquartered in Dalton, Georgia — are working in conjunction with the Great Promise Partnership to help teens that are at risk from graduating high school gain confidence, earn a paycheck, complete their schooling, and alter their future. The program has these teens going to school in the morning and then working in Beaulieu in the afternoon, where they are valued team members in the plant, filling open positions and bringing fresh ideas to contribute to the processes within the company.
