Teenagers clad in vivid red T-shirts tighten steering assemblies with whirring power tools, filling a critical workforce need for Textron Specialty Vehicles, a rapidly growing Augusta manufacturer. Minutes earlier, the teens had finished their schoolwork in the Richmond County School System’s on-site classroom.

By the time they earn their high school diploma, these students will already have some of the skills that Textron values in full-time employees. They’re acquiring both work and academic skills at the RPM facility, the Richmond County School System’s innovative “Reaching Potential through Manufacturing” partnership with Textron.

Besides encouraging at-risk students to stay in school, RPM gives Augusta high-schoolers a steady job and the chance to start a career with Textron Specialized Vehicles, a golf cart manufacturer and major Richmond County employer.

“This RPM model really creates a win-win situation between the community and this company,” said Plant Manager Heather Meyer.

The Richmond County School System is cultivating similar collaborations with employers in the Central Savannah River Area by applying ideas from a survey the Carl Vinson Institute of Government conducted. Through the survey, employers identified the critical technical and occupational skills young workers need to succeed. The Richmond County School System is responding by tweaking its Career, Technical and Agricultural Education curriculum to help students attain those priority skills.

The yearlong survey informed the school system’s effort to better align CTAE training with business and industry in a 13-county region, according to Richmond County School Superintendent Angela Pringle. Institute faculty collected workforce needs information from nearly 200 companies, assessed student and CTAE needs through focus groups with parents and teachers, and partnered with UGA’s College of Education on a CTAE curriculum review.

“Employers say Richmond County’s CTAE program aligns well with current needs. And adjustments suggested by the survey have put CTAE on a trajectory to provide students with skillsets that employers will need in five years,” said Institute faculty member John Barner. The survey also found that nearly three-fourths of area manufacturers would like to establish or re-establish a partnership with the school system.

Information from the survey motivated the school system to expand its computer coding and cybersecurity programs and raise the CTAE program’s profile by inviting business leaders into the schools and arranging for students to tour area factories, according to CTAE Director Nanette Barnes.

The survey also inspired employers and school leaders to build or renew important connections, said Jonathan Davis, existing industries coordinator with the Augusta Economic Development Authority. “There was a need to bridge the gap between industry and schools. That bridge exists now,” he said.