Chamber partnering with local schools to foster a skilled workforce

By Editor | September 18, 2019 |

BUSINESS AND EDUCATION leaders are working together to make sure the local workforce pipeline remains filled with skilled workers. Thanks to a partnership between the chamber and high school, a grant will help teach certain students about technology in industry. Pictured are Trey Gainous, executive director of the Cairo-Grady County Chamber of Commerce, and Michelle Ausley, Work-Based Learning coordinator at Cairo High School.

A select group of students at Cairo High School will soon have an opportunity to participate in a special grant funded project that will teach them about technology in agriculture-related industry in hopes of students continuing their education after high school. Specifically, the nearly $3,000 project will target 30 potential first generation students currently enrolled at CHS in the 11th or 12th grades.

The Cairo-Grady County Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Grady County School System and Southern Regional Technical College, applied for and received a “College Access Mini-Grant” of $2,972.45 from the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education.

“The AFLW Initiative’s mission is to increase career awareness and college going rates by fusing technology with the study of Agriculture, Land, Forest and Wildlife Management. The program design and curriculum will use drone technology in hands-on, real-life applications in these programs of study to bring abstract academic concepts to life,” states information from Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education. “Regardless if students chooses an agriculture, land, forest or wildlife field as their career of choice, students will be able to experience first-hand how the integration of technology is impacting future careers. Students will gain insights in how jobs are structured and how they may evolve in the future. As importantly, students will develop transferable skills – problem solving, critical thinking, and team work – that will enable them to be successful in their post secondary studies and in their careers.”

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