Published 12-11-23
Submitted by Southwire
When our team members choose Southwire as their workplace, they invest in us, and we are committed to investing in them. Our goal is for team members to build meaningful and lasting Southwire careers. To do so, we provide flexible development opportunities, many of which are accessible to all team members, regardless of their location or role.
Each year we enhance our learning and development portfolio to meet the needs of our workplace and industry as they evolve. Examples of our 2022 learning and development initiatives include:
TODAY’S YOUTH, TOMORROW’S LEADERS: BUILDING OUR TALENT PIPELINE
Experts estimate that 2.1 million manufacturing jobs could go unfilled by 2030, due to a manufacturing skills gap in the U.S.8 Southwire is working to close this gap by providing skill-building opportunities related to manufacturing and other key positions. We partner with numerous academic and technical institutions to provide early career programs that expand our vertical and regional recruitment efforts today and nurture a diverse pipeline of talent for our company and industry for the future.
Our partners include Auburn University’s 100 Women Strong and Engineering Academic Excellence programs, Georgia Tech’s Office of Minority Educational Development and the University of West Georgia. We also partner with the AUCC to provide expanded educational opportunities, scholarships, internships and job opportunities to Black and female students in the consortium’s dual-degree engineering program. In 2022, we welcomed five AUCC interns at Southwire, who joined us for events such as a career day we hosted at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Additional programs to build our talent pipeline include:
12 FOR LIFE®
Now in its 15th year, our 12 for Life® program teams up with local school systems in Georgia and Alabama to provide employment and training inside a modified Southwire manufacturing environment, while allowing students to complete their high school diploma or GED. The program includes classroom instruction, work and life-skill building, and mentoring opportunities. Students earn wages for their work and, most importantly, develop skills they will need after graduation. The 2022 cohort included 31 students from school systems in Georgia’s Carroll, Haralson, and Heard counties and Bremen City Schools, and 26 graduates from Alabama’s Florence City Schools and Lauderdale County Schools. This marks a total of nearly 3,900 students who have completed 12 for Life® to date.
SOUTHWIRE BUSINESS LEADERS PROGRAM (SBLP)
Our collaboration with the University of West Georgia’s Richards College of Business provides opportunities for students to work in tandem with Southwire’s leadership teams to develop real-world business and community initiatives. Examples include enhancing our internal audit process, implementing an assets tracking system in IT, creating a Southwire Speed virtual warehouse and conducting a marketing study of Southwire’s brand awareness. The third cohort of SBLP students successfully completed the program in 2022.
SOUTHWIRE MAINTENANCE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM
Our two-year Maintenance Apprenticeship program helps us develop a pipeline of skilled maintenance technicians by providing both classroom instruction and customized on-the-job training, which positions participants to be hired as full-time team members after the program’s completion. We were proud to welcome 15 new apprentices into the program in 2022.
“The Maintenance Apprenticeship program was a great opportunity to learn some very valuable skills that I was able to apply in the field. These skills enabled me to become a top performer amongst my peers in a rewarding profession, and my career has seen an enormous benefit from being an apprentice. I’m currently a Maintenance Supervisor with hopes of becoming a Maintenance Manager in the near future.”
- Brandon Nunez, Maintenance Supervisor at North Campus
Learn how we’re investing in workforce readiness for manufacturing students through our $500,000 commitment to West Georgia Technical College.
Visit https://www.southwire.com/sustainability to view the full 2022 Southwire Sustainability Report.
8 The Manufacturing Institute, “2.1 Million Manufacturing Jobs Could Go Unfilled by 2030.” https://www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/2-1- million-manufacturing-jobs-could-go-unfilled-by-2030-11330/
A leader in technology and innovation, Southwire Company, LLC is one of North America’s largest wire and cable producers and an emerging influence in many important electrical markets. Southwire and its subsidiaries manufacture building wire and cable, utility products, metal-clad cable, portable and electronic cord products, OEM wire products and engineered products. In addition, Southwire supplies assembled products, contractor equipment, electrical components, hand tools and jobsite power and lighting solutions, and the company provides a variety of field and support services to customers around the world. For more information about Southwire’s products, its community involvement and its vision of sustainability, visit www.southwire.com.
More from Southwire