Developing our future workforce.

Students must also exhibit a passion for creating a better future for themselves and their communities.

Dependents of Shaw associates are eligible to apply for a one-time scholarship for high school seniors attending a two-year or four-year college, university or technical school.

Please visit https://shawinc.com/scholarship for additional details.

Questions? Email scholarship@shawinc.com.

In partnership with City Park Elementary School, located in Dalton, Ga., Shaw has designed a comprehensive STEM after-school program created to build confidence, encourage creative thinking and problem solving and empower young girls to consider the wide range of careers available to them. In an effort to remove barriers to pursuing historically male-dominated fields, Shaw is working to increase accessibility to knowledge and skills while sharing the range of roles available to girls throughout the manufacturing industry.
 
The semester-long class includes rising fourth and fifth graders who are currently enrolled in the school’s free/reduced lunch program. The inspiring collaboration positions members of Shaw’s Women in Leadership (WiN) program and the company’s co-op students as ongoing mentors and leaders during the after-school program. 
 
Throughout the program, each student will learn about Shaw facilities as they explore a range of career opportunities in areas such as engineering, design, marketing, tech, analysis and IT. To conclude the program, the students present a finished project or presentation to members of the Shaw WiN group, Dalton Public School board members, parents and Dalton Middle and High School administrators. 
 
The elementary school partnership complements Shaw’s existing middle school programs, creating a more fully developed STEM education pipeline from kindergarten to college. 
 

In partnership with the local Dalton, Ga. community and other business leaders, Shaw Industries helped develop and implement a week-long, STEM-focused summer camp for middle school students. Called Camp D.E.M. (Design, Engineering & Manufacturing), the program is aimed at educating students about career opportunities in manufacturing, providing them with hands-on experience in design, engineering and manufacturing, and coaching them on effective team building and critical thinking skills. The experience includes rapid prototyping, electronics, laser integrated design, robotics, energy, and carpet design. The camp is free for students thanks to corporate sponsorships from Shaw and others.

In 2013, Shaw expanded its extensive educational partnership program to include FIRST®, an international organization started by Segway inventor, Dean Kamen, that aims to inspire young people to participate in science and technology. Through its programs, FIRST^® Robotics and FIRST^® Tech, students from northwest Georgia middle and high schools have had the opportunity to build science, engineering, and technology skills that also foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication and leadership. FIRST has proved to be a perfect fit for Shaw as the company has long supported programs from reading to robotics to help cultivate the workforce of the future. In addition to Shaw’s participation as a sponsor of the local FIRST teams, Shaw associates have contributed personal time and resources, serving as mentors to the students throughout the school year. 

Great Promise Partnership™ (GPP) is a program, designed cooperatively by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and numerous public and private sector leaders, including Shaw Industries, that works with high school age, at-risk youth, with the promise that if they continue their education, they will be supported in their efforts to prepare for further education, military service or the workforce after graduation. The program allows teens 16 and older to spend part of the day at school and part of the day at the job site. There, they benefit from on-the-job training at real entry-level jobs, mentoring, life and career skill sessions and service learning projects. Students may also earn pay raises based on job and academic performance, attendance and behavior.

Shaw became a Great Promise Partnership employer in the fall of 2015 and has expanded its participation to its locations throughout northwest Georgia. 

The Northwest Georgia College and Career Academy's Advanced Manufacturing and Business Academy (AMBA) is a curriculum designed to prepare students for a progressive career in the manufacturing industry.  Through the program, high school students gain foundational knowledge that allows them to achieve both required certifications and college credits that will accelerate entry into the various manufacturing career opportunities – immediately after high school or after pursuing further education at a technical college or four-year university. The AMBA offers three paths of interest: manufacturing, logistics/supply chain and corporate administration.

Since AMBA's inception, Shaw has been closely involved with the development and success of the program, providing resources and support across all facets of the Academy, including mentorship, staff and faculty development, and teaching. As a part of its engagement with AMBA, Shaw is also one of four partner companies participating in its apprenticeship program, which provides students in their junior and senior years with practical and applicable training and education in advanced manufacturing with regional manufacturers and suppliers in the industry.  The paid apprenticeship program provides training and development in manufacturing principles and processes, on-the-job experience in entry level manufacturing and support jobs and roles, potential for full-time summer employment, opportunity for professional certifications, and coaching and mentoring from manufacturing management and leadership. 

In the fall of 2012, Shaw Industries and the Northwest Georgia College and Career Academy (NWGCCA) took the lead in creating a Georgia Department of Education (GADOE) curriculum for Mechatronics. The initiative was taken in response to Dalton, Ga., the home of Shaw’s headquarters, having one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation despite the local industry having many unfilled positions for industrial systems due to un-qualified applicants. With a team of engineers and community members, the curriculum was written and submitted to GADOE for approval. After months of review, the curriculum was approved, and Shaw Industries, in partnership with Whitfield County Schools, worked to create a Mechatronics lab for students in 2013-2014 school year.

The program continues today with students completing the program with skills to continue study at Georgia Northwestern Technical College in the Industrial Systems Program or with a solid foundation in theory and skills to pursue an engineering degree. 

In 2013, the Georgia Governor’s Office of Workforce Development (GOWD), in partnership with Shaw and other carpet industry leaders across Northwest Georgia, launched the Fast Track Innovation Program to provide individuals with technical skills for employment in the industry. 

In coordination with the Northwest Regional Commission and Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC), the partner companies (including Shaw) select qualified individuals in the local area to participate in a 10-week training, preparing them to fill entry-level industrial maintenance jobs in the industry. Through classroom teaching, computer-based learning and lab instruction at GNTC, participants end the program course equipped with the mechanical, electrical and maintenance skills to perform the jobs successfully and help these companies continue to grow in Georgia. 

Beyond School Walls is a partnership among Shaw Industries, Eastbrook Middle School and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Georgia Mountains. The model is a one-to-one, site-based mentoring program through which students meet with their mentor weekly during the school year at our corporate campus. The goal of the program is for the associate to mentor from sixth to eighth grade, giving the student a good foundation to begin high school.