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Savannah Chatham County Public School System's Work-Based Learning Youth Apprenticeship Program is a structured combination of school- and work-based learning. Participating students receive an education that is academically challenging and relevant to employment in today's economy.
Through a coordinated effort involving business and industry, the program addresses the dual challenge of preparing students for the world of work and providing Chatham County and Georgia with a highly skilled, technologically competitive workforce.
Savannah Chatham County Public School System has numerous partners in postsecondary, business, and the community. However, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation in Savannah, Georgia, has been instrumental in supporting the Youth Apprenticeship Program. Gulfstream, a unit of General Dynamics since 2001, is a producer of several models of jet aircraft. The main facility is located in Savannah, with other facilities throughout the United States. The company has produced more than 1500 aircraft for corporate, government, private, and military customers around the world. Gulfstream and the Savannah Chatham County Public School System have been working together since 2005 in recruiting high school students into competitive apprenticeships for high-skill occupations. Participating high school students work at Gulfstream during their junior and senior years. The program links school-based learning (secondary and postsecondary) with first-hand business experience to provide a seamless transition into aviation-related engineering and technology.
Through its involvement in educational partnerships, Gulfstream strongly supports the formal education not only of its regular employees but also of the students it employs. Savannah Chatham County Public School System, Gulfstream, and Savannah Technical College work together in bringing economic vitality to the region. Savannah Technical College, the region's leading provider of market-driven technical education, develops programs designed to meet the changing needs of the regional economy, current and future. Savannah Chatham County Schools and Savannah Technical College have articulation agreements for many courses relevant to Gulfstream and other local businesses. These agreements benefit employers such as Gulfstream by enabling students to enter the workforce more quickly than would otherwise be possible.
Gulfstream and Savannah Technical College have developed special courses that give students the opportunity to learn skills that better prepare them for the challenges of the workplace. In 2006, Gulfstream announced that it was spending more than $300 million to expand its facilities in Savannah over the next seven years. This will add more than new buildings. It will add new employees and give local graduates new careers. Gulfstream says the new facility will allow the company to increase production from 72 jets a year to nearly 100. The Gulfstream-Savannah Technical College classes are designed specifically for building and maintaining Gulfstream jets. As the facilities are built, jobs will be created for residents of the region, including Chatham County's students.
Gulfstream is the largest employer in Chatham County and the largest employer of the school system's students (15–20 new hires per year). Gulfstream employs students for a minimum of five hours per work release period, but most students work approximately three hours a day or 15 hours a week. The students currently employed by Gulfstream have collectively earned over $42,700 in wages this school year. The Youth Apprenticeship Program partnership is unique in that students gain academic credit, advance their personal and career development, and add value to the work of a Fortune 500 company by engaging in authentic work-based learning.
In addition to providing a worksite where students can gain work experience that is linked to their engineering career pathways, Gulfstream has played a tremendous role in other school initiatives that encourage students to explore careers in aviation. Gulfstream supports the career, technical, and agricultural education division's teacher of the year initiative by providing monetary awards for the winners. Representatives from Gulfstream sit on district and individual school advisory boards for career, technical, and agricultural education. Gulfstream also plays an active role (by providing speakers or recruiters) in career fairs, school transitioning events, job shadowing experiences, and career exploration events. For the 2008–2009 school year, Gulfstream launched a student leadership program with Savannah Chatham Schools. One hundred and twenty-five freshmen learned about leadership, communication, and team-building. The program's curriculum is based on Stedman Graham's bestselling Teens Can Make It Happen: Nine Steps to Success. Gulfstream arranged for Graham to be the keynote speaker for the kickoff and culminating events.
The Savannah Chatham County Public School System and Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation partnership enhances the regional and (ultimately) national economies and improves the lives of many people.
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