ASI Southeast’s work-based learning program is becoming a long-term talent pipeline for the Georgia manufacturer, with students gaining paid production experience while the company develops workers for hard-to-fill skilled roles. The program’s impact was highlighted when Stephens County High School senior Connor Wallace was named Georgia’s 2026 Work-Based Learning Student of the Year.

A Georgia manufacturing program is taking a different approach to the skilled-labor shortage: developing future employees while they are still in high school.

ASI Southeast, a manufacturer of commercial toilet partitions and lockers for ASI Global Partitions and ASI Storage, has spent nine years building a work-based learning program with Stephens County Schools. Students work at the company’s Toccoa plant during the school year, return during successive summers and can move into full-time employment after graduation.

The model recently received statewide recognition when Connor Wallace, a senior at Stephens County High School and a Work-Based Learning student at ASI Southeast, was named Georgia’s 2026 Work-Based Learning Student of the Year.

Wallace received the award September 24 at the Governor’s Workforce Summit in Atlanta after first winning the county-level competition.

His experience illustrates what employers can gain when work-based learning is structured as more than an internship.

Wallace joined ASI Southeast in December 2024 shortly after turning 16. Since then, the company says he has recorded zero absences, tardies or early departures and earned its 2025 Perfect Attendance Award.

By August 19, he had accumulated 2,534 work-based learning hours and was on track to exceed ASI’s program record of 3,100 hours before graduating.

More importantly, Wallace has participated directly in operational improvement.

During a continuous-improvement competition in ASI’s Locker Business Unit, he redesigned the UPS staging process. The company estimates that the change eliminated approximately 158,720 employee steps annually, equivalent to nearly 80 miles of walking, while generating about $5,000 in annual savings.

The project earned the unit’s “Most Steps Saved” award.

Wallace subsequently became one of five employees representing the Locker Business Unit in ASI’s company-wide 2026 continuous-improvement championship. The team’s project generated approximately $35,000 in estimated annual savings and won the competition, with Wallace receiving the Best Presenter award.

The experience demonstrates a central advantage of work-based learning for manufacturers: students can become contributors to operational improvement rather than simply observers of workplace processes.

Wallace now serves as ASI’s Work-Based Learning Team Captain, acting as a liaison between the manufacturer, participating students and Stephens County High School. His responsibilities include supporting plant tours and job fairs, helping train employees, and working across production and quality-inspection functions.

The program was developed by Stephen Wallace, ASI Southeast’s general manager and Connor’s father, in partnership with Stephens County Schools. Its structure is designed around a specific labor-market problem in northeast Georgia, where manufacturers compete for a limited pool of workers with relevant technical and production skills.

Instead of relying exclusively on external recruitment, ASI uses the program to introduce potential employees to the company, equipment and workplace expectations before they become full-time candidates.

That creates a longer talent-acquisition funnel.

Students gain paid workplace experience and a clearer understanding of manufacturing careers, while the employer can evaluate skills, reliability and cultural fit over an extended period. By the time participants graduate, both sides have already accumulated years of experience working together.

Georgia’s broader work-based learning system provides a substantial pool for that approach. According to the Georgia Department of Education, 32,518 students participated across 24,582 employers during the most recent school year.

ASI’s program remains relatively small, but its retention results illustrate why employers may view these programs as workforce infrastructure rather than community outreach.

Over nine years, the company says the initiative has hired 67 students from three area high schools, beginning with four participants. Graduated students have accumulated more than 57,736 hours of work and earned over $1 million in wages.

Approximately 80% of graduates remain with ASI after graduation, while about half stay for at least three years. The company reports that only one participant has been involuntarily terminated during the program’s nine-year history.

The program has also become a meaningful component of ASI Southeast’s existing workforce. About 32% of the operations workforce at the company’s 900 Plant came through Work-Based Learning, according to ASI. Across Georgia, approximately 10% of ASI employees came through the program.

For employers facing persistent skilled-worker shortages, those figures point to a different way of thinking about recruiting.

Traditional hiring begins when an organization has an open position. Work-based learning starts years earlier, allowing employers to build familiarity and skills before a vacancy exists.

That model also shifts some responsibility for workforce development from the labor market to the employer. Instead of searching for workers who already possess every required capability, companies can build training into the pathway and develop employees around their actual equipment, processes and quality standards.

The approach is particularly relevant to manufacturing, where employers often need workers with a combination of technical skills, operational discipline and familiarity with specialized production environments.

ASI Southeast’s program does not eliminate those hiring challenges, but it creates a structured pipeline that connects education with the workplace and gives students a direct route into skilled employment.

Wallace’s statewide recognition puts an individual face on that model. His progression from high-school student to production contributor, continuous-improvement participant and program leader illustrates the potential of treating work-based learning as an integrated workforce strategy rather than a short-term student placement.

For HR and workforce leaders, the broader lesson is straightforward: when employers connect schools to real jobs and provide a defined path from classroom to full-time employment, talent development can begin well before traditional recruiting starts.

Market Landscape

Work-based learning is increasingly being used as a workforce-development strategy for employers facing shortages in manufacturing, healthcare, construction, logistics and other skilled occupations.

The model differs from conventional recruiting by creating a long-duration talent pipeline. Students gain practical experience and employers gain an opportunity to develop skills, evaluate performance and establish relationships before graduation.

For HR teams, the strongest programs combine employer participation with formal school partnerships, defined learning objectives, paid work experience and a clear transition into full-time employment.

ASI Southeast’s results also highlight the potential retention advantage. When students learn an employer’s processes and culture over multiple years, the transition from education to employment becomes less dependent on conventional external recruiting.

Top Insights

• ASI Southeast’s nine-year work-based learning program has hired 67 students from three local high schools.
• Approximately 80% of program graduates remain with ASI after graduation, with about half staying for at least three years.
• Work-based learning participants account for 32% of the operations workforce at ASI Southeast’s 900 Plant.
• Student Connor Wallace generated measurable process improvements, including an estimated $5,000 annual saving from a redesigned staging process.
• Georgia’s statewide work-based learning system enrolled 32,518 students across 24,582 employers in the latest school year.

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