We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for our future.
—Franklin D Roosevelt.

Our public schools in Georgia hold the future workforce of the construction industry. With more than 160 skilled trade construction and metals programs, the K12 Pipeline produces graduates ready to work. These programs and instructors are on the front lines of the fight to supply a sustainable skilled trade workforce to the construction industry, as well as deliver unprecedented opportunities and economic mobility to our young people.

CEFGA partners with the Georgia Department of Education, employers, trade associations and philanthropic organizations to provide support and services to programs statewide. The CEFGA K12 Pipeline seeks to elevate and expand our skilled trade programs statewide in our public-school systems and empower students to build and create, from elementary through high school.

The effects of the job shortage are being felt across the United States. There were 311,000 vacancies in the construction industry as of October 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

CEFGA is proud to announce a groundbreaking investment in the K12 Pipeline led by The Marcus Foundation, The Arthur M. Blank Foundation, and The Home Depot Foundation. Our “Introducing the Next Generation to the Skilled Trades” initiative will build the construction workforce while delivering valuable in-demand skills to students and connect them to clear career pathways in the skilled trades. The plan recognizes our teachers as the front-line leaders in workforce development and impacting positive generational change for youth. This comprehensive initiative involves partnerships between CEFGA, educators, philanthropic organizations, the GaDOE, and industry leaders. Together, we will change the face of education and build the construction industry one person at a time. Learn More.

“I’ve been concerned, for a number of years, that students have been told that if they don’t get a college education they can’t succeed. It’s not true. And it hasn’t been true since I was a kid—many people have been successful after learning a trade—it helps make the world ’work.’ Our country has grown and prospered because of electricians, plumbers, and all kinds of construction workers in every generation. Having a skill in a trade today can lead to a great job, no college debt, and the ability to provide for a family.”
—Bernie Marcus, co-founder of The Home Depot and founder of The Marcus Family Foundation

“CEFGA’s new education model is changing the game for how students in Georgia learn about and pursue a career in the trades. As the skilled labor gap continues to widen, we’re proud to support CEFGA and partner with the Marcus and Blank Foundations to train future generations of tradesmen and women.”
—Craig Menear, Chairman, CEO and President of The Home Depot

“We believe in the power of workforce development programs to provide living wage jobs and long-term economic mobility. CEFGA is a trusted partner in our Family Foundation’s workforce development on the Westside of Atlanta, where Westside Works has placed nearly 400 Westside residents into construction jobs. We look forward to working together to provide additional meaningful opportunities for students across Georgia.”
—Arthur Blank, The Home Depot co-founder and Chairman of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

“Providing students with hands-on real-life experiences during their formative years is critical to their long-term success in school and life. Fulton County Schools is eager to expand existing efforts in elementary and middle schools. I have personally seen the benefit of students acquiring and applying new skills related to the construction industry.”
—Dr. Mike Looney, Superintendent Fulton County Schools

Are you interested in partnering with CEFGA as an employer, educator or career-seeker? Contact us.

Programs Map

2021 Live Events Series

Join Kayleen McCabe and special guests on Facebook Live each Tuesday at noon as they discuss career opportunities in the construction industry. Each session is recorded and published on our YouTube channel. Click here for upcoming guests/topics and previous sessions from this year; visit the 2020 archive page for last year’s events.

K12 Pipeline Showcase

Watch as Kayleen McCabe, host of DIY Network’s “Rescue Renovation,” visits with three young professionals who are thriving in Georgia construction careers, having realized “that moment when you think not just, ‘I can do this,’ but, ‘I love doing this.’”