Employed, enlisted, or enrolled. Those are the three goals Colquitt County High School set forth for each graduate. The high school teachers and staff meet with each student several times a year to discuss goals and how to meet them. Students identifying employment as a top priority upon high school graduation get additional opportunities to become work-ready. One such opportunity is the Get2Work Bootcamp, part of Project Purpose.
The Get2Work Bootcamp and Project Purpose are a joint effort of the Colquitt County School District, the Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce, and the Moultrie-Colquitt County Development Authority with financial support from the United Way of Colquitt County and Georgia Power. “We could not offer this to our students without the critical partnerships we have with these organizations and many others,” shared Superintendent Ben Wiggins. “We are grateful for the incredible opportunity the Get2Work Bootcamp and other Project Purpose activities give our students and teachers to interact with the business community.”
The Bootcamp is a five-day program held in the spring that connects students with industry training to prepare for upcoming job fairs and future employment. Students can choose between two tracks: manufacturing or healthcare/customer service.
Students who completed the manufacturing track earned their Forklift and OSHA 10 certifications. They also completed a seven-hour general industrial maintenance systems introduction course, a resume writing, and an interview skills course. Southern Regional Technical College instructors taught these courses with additional support from Lowes and JCI Contractors.
Students who participated in the healthcare/customer service track earned their CPR/First Aid certification. In addition, participating students completed seven-hour courses taught by Colquitt Regional Medical Center staff on Front Office and Clinical Medical Terminology, as well as Soft Skills for Healthcare. This group also completed the Real Color Personality® Test through the University of Georgia’s J.W. Fanning Institute to better help them understand human behavior, motivators for human actions, and ways to communicate with each other, an essential function of healthcare employees. They finished the Bootcamp with a resume writing and interview skills course.
Courtney Hillard, Moultrie-Colquitt County Development Authority, shared, “With partnerships like Project Purpose, we are supporting workforce development programs that enable students to gain additional training to meet the needs of local industries. These newly earned skillsets will enable them to access jobs that pay livable wages by the time they graduate high school.”
Project Purpose has several upcoming events, including a Teacher Immersion Tour, Speed Networking for High School Students, and the annual Exploration Day Job Fair at Colquitt County High School. Information on all of these events and Project Purpose can be found at projectpurposega.com
Get2Work Manufacturing Students
Jayden Calabrese
Raul Casas
Diego Espino
Hayden Freeman
Joshua Rogers
Get2Work HealthCare Students
Janis (Aidan) Bailor
Hiddekel Balderrama-Hernandez
Diamond Barajas
Azenette Cazuela-Zap
Erika Garcia-Sixto
Laviyakia Johnson
Nubia Madison
Jayleen Naranjo
Selina Reynoso
Terrell Sanders