Ace University Manager Greg Terry, left, and Lowndes High School Work-Based Learning and Youth Apprenticeship Jason Van Nus are part of the Ace Electric and Lowndes High School work-based learning and apprenticeship team.
The National Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) and its Board of Directors announced ACE Electric, Inc. as an ACTE Business-Education Partnership Award Winner. The Business-Education Partnership Award celebrates the contributions and achievements of schools and businesses that aid in the development and maintenance of partnerships supporting high-quality career and technical education (CTE).
The ACE Electric and Lowndes High School Worked-Based Learning partnership was designed to address a critical labor shortage faced by ACE Electric within the electrical trade. This labor shortage was exacerbated by the average employee age steadily increasing over the last decade with many retirements, and a lack of student awareness and recruiting in the electrical contracting trade. In short, Ace’s high school internship program, AMPED, was formed out of necessity.
The problem faced by the Lowndes High School Work-Based Learning and Youth Apprenticeship program was the lack of robust placements for students in the construction and electrical industries.
The result of this partnership was as intended. A talent pipeline was developed from Lowndes High School through the Work-Based Learning program to ACE Electric to address a critical labor shortage. This was accomplished by providing early access to talent, resulting in a local employer gaining a competitive advantage to retain said talent. This talent was invested further by post-secondary institutions that provided the credentialing necessary to register these students not only as youth apprentices but also as registered apprentices with the U.S. Department of Labor.
ACE Electric, Inc. will be recognized alongside other national ACTE award winners on November 29, 2023, at the annual ACTE Awards Gala in Phoenix, Arizona.
ACE Electric is an electrical contractor founded in Valdosta, Georgia in 1975. They perform electrical installations in many market segments, including commercial, correctional, distribution, government, hospitality, industrial, education, manufacturing, mission-critical, and maintenance. They have offices located in Valdosta, Statesboro, Macon, and Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Tennessee; Sanford, North Carolina; and Plain City, Ohio..