At AT&T, we are passionate about the strength and success of Atlanta, and through Believe AtlantaSM, are collaborating with community leaders to provide economic empowerment opportunities for the traditionally underserved.
As part of Believe AtlantaSM, AT&T recently contributed $150,000 to the Construction Education Foundation of Georgia (CEFGA) to support CEFGA’s “Construction Ready” program.
The contribution will allow the program to expand its presence in metro Atlanta, to provide additional training and create career paths and economic empowerment opportunities for Atlantans in construction and the skilled trades.
At AT&T, we know everyone deserves an equal opportunity – regardless of zip code, age, gender, race or socioeconomic status.
It’s simple. Our society doesn’t work if it doesn’t work equally for all.
CEFGA’s Construction Ready program offers technical skills-training and helps close the wealth gap that exists in Metro Atlanta. We are proud to collaborate with CEFGA, adapting and expanding economic empowerment opportunities that make our city and our world a better and more equitable place.
Construction Ready takes Georgians through a 20-day construction education program that ends with training, credentialing and job placement. Since 2014, CEFGA – through the Construction Ready program – has trained more than 1,000 workers of all ages for a successful career in construction.
Details of the Construction Ready program include:
- 96% job placement for program graduates at the end of training;
- Starting salary of $12 to $15/hour for program graduates;
- 70% program graduates remain employed with same company one year later; and,
- More than 600 industry credentials for program graduates in the first year.
AT&T’s contribution to CEFGA will provide:
- Approximately 30 scholarships for metro-Atlanta residents enrolling in the Construction Ready program; and,
- Innovative and adaptive technology solutions, enabling CEFGA to offer elements of the Construction Ready program in a virtual format amidst the global pandemic.
According to the Georgia Department of Labor, construction jobs in Georgia will grow by 13.8 percent by 2026 with skilled workers needed not only in residential and commercial building projects but also repair and infrastructure work as improvements to roads and bridges persist. Monster.com shows that on any given day in Georgia there are more than 10,000 construction-related jobs available and unfilled.
The global pandemic has presented challenges for so many, and it’s critical for programs like Construction Ready to adapt and expand programming to offer job-skilling opportunities and economic empowerment. AT&T’s contribution helps CEFGA better positioned amidst COVID to offer job-skilling in new and innovative ways, and to more students.
