Launching a Torrent of Youth Apprenticeships in Florence, Alabama

Florence, Alabama, which sits along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state, known as the Shoals, is where Congress launched the beginning of hydroelectric power in the southeastern U.S., via the construction of the Wilson Dam in 1918. The dam was initially intended to provide hydroelectric energy for the production of nitrates needed for World War I ammunitions. In the 1930s, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill creating the Tennessee Valley Authority, life improved for residents along the Tennessee River, and the dam brought much needed electricity, seeding a manufacturing boom in the region. Wood, plastics, chemicals, and metals manufacturing remain driving industries in a region that has grown to include aerospace, information technology, and security. The electricity generated by the Wilson Dam seems an apt metaphor for the torrent of work opportunities the LAUNCH youth apprenticeship program in Florence City Schools now brings to its students and the community. 

Growing a Robust Youth Apprenticeship Program

LAUNCH was inspired by a successful model started by a global cable and wire manufacturer, Southwire, which partnered with Florence City Schools looking to hire, train, and support students who were at risk of disconnection from school. The 12 for Life program, started by Southwire, laid the foundation for what is now a thriving youth apprenticeship. With over 25 percent of Florence high school students in grades 10-12 (1,075 total) eager to participate, LAUNCH has offered youth apprenticeship slots with 117 business and industry partners in the community. Finding a way to make schedules work for over 300 students was initially a challenge. 

However, the counselors at Florence City Schools got creative and modified schedules to create “work periods” so that students could work 10-15 hours per week, either in the morning and start their school day in the afternoon, or come to school in the morning and work in the afternoon. Optional summer classes are offered online for certain core and dual credit classes, allowing students to stay on track for graduation while also earning college credits through Northwest Shoals Community College. LAUNCH participation requires that students meet rigorous attendance requirements and have no disciplinary issues. LAUNCH has become so popular for exploring postsecondary pathway opportunities that students do whatever it takes to participate. They learn that real-world paid work experience builds their confidence, and their strong performance in the workplace can be a driver to success.

But how do students who want to participate in LAUNCH start their youth apprenticeship journey? Mrs. Jessica Flanagan, the work-based learning coordinator, creates a competitive vetting and application process at the school before a student ever meets an employer. In February or March of the school year, students identify their interests through an internal application process, which sets them up to interview with Florence City Schools staff. The Launch program targets students with appropriate grades, minimal disciplinary issues, and a strong attendance record for these “career-focused” placements. Once students are selected to interview based on their application, a multi-month matching process begins to connect the student with the employment that meets the employer’s needs and the student’s interests. Once a student is matched, the employer contacts the student directly and begins the job interview process. The employer ultimately makes the hiring decision, and students sign a training agreement with the employer, usually mid-summer. At the outset of the following school year, students begin working at their placement during their school day. 

The linchpin to Florence’s Youth Apprenticeship program is a 50-minute class, every two weeks, called Climbing in Careers. LAUNCH students attend this mandatory class that teaches foundational workplace readiness, regardless of the industry in which they work. Climbing in Careers prepares students to enter the workplace with a durable set of communication and work readiness skills that employers highly value and have come to expect. Students are taught that when they are on the job, they have to “make themselves great,” according to Corey Behel, Director of Partnerships and Workforce Innovation at Florence City Schools, and the mastermind behind the growth of LAUNCH, a 2025 PAYA Development grantee. Behel’s enthusiasm for his students is infectious, and he has cultivated a program where “everyone is singing off the same sheet of music.” Additionally, LAUNCH students have the opportunity to complete a dual enrollment class for credit with the University of North Alabama in Florence, and receive their “College and Career Readiness” indicator, which is a state requirement for graduation. 

Data show that LAUNCH has been a game-changer for students in LAUNCH and 12 for Life. For those students, school attendance is up 68 percent and student discipline infractions have been reduced by 85 percent. But the most impressive number is the 100 percent high school graduation rate for the LAUNCH and 12 for Life students over the last 13 years.

With the notable success of the LAUNCH program, the district has opened the newly built LAUNCH Career Center, a dedicated instructional space, co-designed with regional employers. With partnerships from area employers like Lockheed Martin and TASUS manufacturing, Florence High School students will have a state-of-the-art training facility for their related technical instruction, staffed by industry employers and district educators to teach dual credit and CTE classes in occupation-aligned pathways. 

As Behel has stated more than once, putting students first is the priority for Florence City Schools. And the district knows that for LAUNCH to be successful, the return on investment must benefit students and employers alike. Behel and the Florence City Schools team have set extremely high expectations for participating students. And like a coach on a team, Behel is always reflecting, adjusting, and encouraging students to continue improving and performing at the highest level, as reflected in a youth apprentice industrial technician we met while touring TASUS manufacturing. He shared that he values being part of a team on the shop floor and that learning from the more seasoned team members makes him better. He also shared that when he finishes his engineering “career-focused” tasks, sometimes he just sweeps up the floor without being asked, because he recognizes he’s part of the team.

As a small-to-mid-sized city with an estimated population of 44,000, Florence is a community built on trusting relationships and turning potential into power. In the same way Florence harnessed the river to provide electricity and power to the Shoals, it is now powering its youth with this potential. By equipping them with skills, credentials, and wages, they are becoming a part of the economic engine that will sustain their community. 

In Florence, parents have become some of the strongest champions of LAUNCH because, in addition to having their own students in the program, they have also become employers and thus, mentors, enabling the program to grow. This model reflects the impact of being intentional and invested in generating “high-scale” career training and outcomes. The result is more than a successful program; it’s a culture shift that has provided workforce training and career outcomes for Shoals area youth, powering the community for years to come. 

Learn more about the PAYA Development Grantees here.