The Turner Workforce Project is a partnership between the Turner County Development Authority, the Ashburn/Turner County Chamber of Commerce, Turner County Schools, and Southern Regional Technical College and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

The Turner County Board of Education has recently made plans to build a new Turner County Middle High School. Along with the new building, Turner County Schools has made plans to operate the school a new way than we have in the past. We understand and accept that our role is more than graduating students based on the minimum requirements required by the State of Georgia. Our role includes preparing our students for careers of their interest as well providing business and industry with a skilled workforce. We intend to deliver on that responsibility by operating Turner County High School as a College and Career Academy.

A College and Career Academy formalizes partnerships that demonstrate a collaboration between business, industry, and community stakeholders to advance workforce development. A school system works in cooperation with one or more Technical College System of Georgia postsecondary institutions. The Technical College System of Georgia, the Georgia Department of Education and the Office of the Governor and Office of the Lieutenant Governor all support this work through the network of academies. College and Career Academies bring relevance to a high school student’s education and prepare them for college and their career.

In the Spring of 2020, TCS started an effort to make application for a grant to start a College and Career Academy. Since the pandemic had just started, the first meeting to inform the community about the CCA was held virtually. It was well attended by 56 representatives from business and industry in our community. TCS was pleased by the great interest to support the CCA. As a part of the CCA start up, a CCA grant can be applied for to provide up to 3 million dollars for construction. TCS plans to use funds from the grant and from our recent ELOST renewal to build a new school with state of the art classrooms and labs that match the workforce needs.

The CCA plan turns into the CCA grant application. The deadline is in September 2023. The grant application must show that applicants have established partnerships to build on  in the future to prepare a skilled workforce.

Titans2Work Bootcamp

The Titians2Work Bootcamp consists of two boot camp tracks designed for fast-paced preparation, credentialing, and interviewing for a select group of seniors. Upon completion of the boot camp, students will be certified as Turner Workforce Project graduates. They’ll also leave with OSHA and forklift certification (manufacturing track) or customer service training and a ServSafe certification (hospitality track), a professional resume, and top-notch interview skills.

Turner College and Career Fair

A college and career fair, sometimes called a college and career expo, hosted by Turner County High School/School district, is an event at which college admission representatives and industry professionals are all gathered in one place with the goal of helping students learn about a variety of careers and the educational pathways to those careers.

School/district-hosted college and career fairs are a way to level the “playing field” in terms of access to important information about career and education pathways. College and career fairs provide all students at school, or in a community, the opportunity to talk directly with professionals from a variety of occupational fields to learn about their work, the education and credentials required for their field, and to receive tips and advice for steps to take in high school to position themselves for success in a variety of careers. By including college representatives in these events, students also have the opportunity to talk directly with them to find out about the programs and majors offered at different institutions and their admission requirements.

Mock Interviews

A mock interview, also known as a practice interview, is a simulation of an actual job interview. It provides job seekers with an opportunity to practice for an interview and receive feedback on their interviewing skills.

Mock interviews are an ideal way to practice for real job interviews because you are in a situation that mirrors an actual interview with a company. When you review your interview with the interviewer, you'll be able to modify your responses and interview behavior, if necessary.

Practice interviews familiarize users with the interview process and allow users to practice answering common interview questions with confidence. Video practice interviews are particularly helpful in that you can review not only your answers, but your body language, eye contact, and interview attire.

Business and Industry Tour

 A critical first step for successful partnerships is for the leadership of the school system to know the businesses, industries, and the workforce needs of our community. In the Spring of 2022 TCS collaborated with the Ashburn-Turner County Chamber of Commerce for a Business and Industry Tour.

Work Based Learning

The Turner County School System Work-Based Learning Program provides relevant work experience for juniors and seniors at our high schools that align with the student’s high school career pathway, post-secondary, and career plans to benefit the student, employer, and community.

Work-Based Learning offers students school-based and work-based learning opportunities related to the student's career interest area. Students are able to:

• Earn wages while learning from skilled professionals

• Increase career options and future employability

• Strengthen academic skills

• Earn credentials of value while in high school

• Experience potential careers in the workplace

Benefits Work Based Learning: 

TO THE STUDENTS:

• Establishes a clear connection between education and work.

• Increases motivation and retention by showing the relevance of academic and occupational instruction.

• Provides opportunities to explore possible careers and enhances skill development.

• Develops workplace responsibility and positive work habits and attitudes.

• Encourages completion of secondary education and enrollment in post-secondary education.

• Provides opportunities for leadership development.

TO THE BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY:

• Provides an opportunity to prepare future employees.

• Offers a source of skilled and motivated future employees.

• Offers an opportunity to provide community services.

• Increases employer visibility in education.

• Provides an opportunity to communicate required job-specific skills to educational personnel.

TO THE SCHOOL:

• Keeps academic and occupational curricula up-to-date through communication with business and industry.

• Provides access to the latest equipment and technology.

• Enhances education's ability to meet the needs of diverse student populations.

• Makes education more relevant and valuable to students.

• Promotes faculty interaction with the business community.

• Facilitates communication regarding actual academic and occupational proficiencies required by business and industry.

TO THE COMMUNITY:

• Provides an informed, competent, and productive future workforce.

• Ensures cooperation and understanding between education, business, and the community.

• Enhances awareness of local employment opportunities.

• Builds the foundation for a more productive local economy

Pathway of SucceSS