He has dreams to live a successful life. We help connect him to a career that makes it possible.
Powered by United Way of Greater Atlanta, CareerReady ATL is a youth-centered workforce development initiative that creates and funds apprenticeship programs aligned to high-demand occupations that can provide a pathway to a “living wage” career with opportunities for growth and economic mobility.
Who we are and our goals
United Way of Greater Atlanta envisions a youth apprenticeship system focused on Black, Hispanic, and other youth of color furthest from opportunity that ensures they have multiple pathways to economic well-being and self-sufficiency, fueling the regional talent pipeline to meet various industry needs.
Our goals
- Provide apprenticeships to those further from opportunity.
- Influence the creation of 4,000 high-quality youth apprenticeship opportunities within the Greater Atlanta region by 2027.
Powering Growth and Sustainability
Career Ready ATL partners are building the systems needed to scale youth apprenticeship opportunities.
Funding Partners
Program Partners
ARCHI (Atlanta Regional Collaborative on Health Improvement) • Atlanta Technical College • CareerRise • CobbWorks • Elevance Health • Fresh Films • Georgia Building Trades Academy • Georgia Division of Family & Children Services • Georgia Piedmont Technical College • The nsoro Foundation • Partnership for Southern Equity • Project Real Life YOTC • re:imagine
United Way of Greater Atlanta believes in Youth Apprenticeship as a powerful racial equity strategy because it:
- Increases access to in-demand, high-wage careers.
- Provides real work experience that builds professional and technical skills.
- Enables youth access to industry-recognized credentials or degrees without taking on debt.
- Allows youth to “earn while they learn” so that they can provide for themselves and their families.
- Provides access to social capital by connecting youth to an employer, adult mentors, and colleagues in their field of interest.
We prioritize access to apprenticeships for youth who are:
- Low-income
- In foster care or formerly in foster care
- Incarcerated or formerly incarcerated
- LGBTQ+
- First-generation Americans
- Young parents
- Opportunity Youth (disconnected from school or the workforce)
A pathway to your future
CareerReady ATL is about paving a path to a successful future for all young Atlantans. See for yourself how the program changed the course of one apprentice’s life.
Play Video
“CareerReady ATL provided me with the opportunity to discover my talent and make connections to design my future.”
Youth apprenticeships help connect
and expose youth ages 16-24 to
careers by placing them in real work
environments that enable them to
earn while they learn, gaining
valuable work experience alongside
committed employers who care about
their success.
Michele
Jacobs
Associate Vice President, College and Career Ready
How you can help
Your company can sponsor a youth apprenticeship program, or you can help get an interested youth involved.
