The strongest ideas don’t always come from the most experienced employees or largest contractors. As Jasiah, a high school apprentice from East Point, is proving, sometimes the smartest business solutions can come from giving young people a seat at the table.
Jasiah is one of hundreds of young people that United Way of Greater Atlanta matched to training and employment opportunities through our youth apprenticeship program CareerReady ATL last year. Unlike interns, who typically spend a summer completing a short-term project, apprentices are paid, take on meaningful work responsibilities, and gain both the soft skills and technical skills that prepare them to start their careers, often with the same company. Along the way, we provide our apprentices with wraparound support and mentorship to help them navigate their entry to the workforce, and adulthood, successfully.
“Management, warehousing, orders, and learning about the supply chain in general…I don’t think there’s a limit to how much you can do in an apprenticeship,” said Jasiah.
Where fresh juice meets fresh talent
Arden’s Garden was one of more than 300 small businesses approached in the Tri-Cities area to see if they were interested in hosting a CareerReady ATL youth apprenticeship program, and they became the first in the area to sign on.
“When this opportunity came up, we didn’t do it out of the goodness of our hearts — we needed help!” said Leslie Zinn, President and CEO of Arden’s Garden.
Arden’s Garden has served East Point since 2002, with two manufacturing plants in East Point, 19 juice bars in Greater Atlanta, and 5,000 partners who distribute their smoothies and juices across the southeast. They care deeply about their neighborhood, and saw this as an opportunity to both support youth workforce development in the community and help their business. After interviewing 17-year-old Jasiah who attends the local high school Promise Career Institute, they knew he’d be a great fit.
In his job at Arden’s Garden, Jasiah works in logistics to source fruit for smoothies, learn about the cold-press bottling process, and build bridges with vendors across the southeast. His manager Rob Wheeler was impressed to see Jasiah’s fresh perspective at work from the get-go, researching suppliers in a way no one on his team had thought about. On his second day on the job, he found a solution with a supplier that saved the business $30,000.
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Jasiah, now a senior, learned a lot through the youth apprentice program. Alongside his apprenticeship, he’s working toward his forklift operator certification, and completing two logistics and supply chain management credits from Atlanta Technical College as a dual enrollment student. Next year, he plans to study logistics and supply chain management at Georgia Southern, all inspired by his apprenticeship opportunity.
“Manufacturing specifically, but really all the fields that use these apprenticeship programs, are hurting for people. They’re hurting for people who are trained to come in or eager to learn about the process,” said Rob Wheeler, Arden’s Garden’s Plant Manager. “We’d love to continue this program.”
Investing in youth, transforming our workforce
United Way of Greater Atlanta’s CareerReady ATL is here to support companies ready to host their own apprentice. For industries with a demand for workers, training youth in-house may be the solution you’d never thought of, but one that can help fill gaps with skilled youth.
As Arden’s Garden HR manager Sarita Riley said about young people, “They’re teachable. So why not teach them?”
Investing in a youth apprentice could change the trajectory of their life. With CareerReady ATL, we’re investing in those furthest from opportunity and making it possible for them to lead a life full of choices while giving them wraparound support along the way.
LEARN MORE: CareerReady ATL: Providing Real Opportunity for Greater Atlanta Youth
For Jasiah, he’s now poised to enter a career path that’s expected to grow 17 percent from 2024 to 2034 (far outpacing most occupations), with a median salary more than $10,000 above the median income of East Point households.
“Our ideal outcome would be that that youth stays with us for the next 40 years and has a career, buys a home, and creates generational wealth, and models for the next generation how to get a job and grow in a career — to just pass it on down,” said Leslie.
Jasiah walked into Arden’s Garden as a high schooler looking for an opportunity, and left with skills, mentorship, and a vision for his future. There are thousands of young people across Greater Atlanta waiting for that same chance. You can help put career readiness in reach for youth across our region by donating today.