Mike Wiggins and His Coworkers at Southwire — a leading cable and wire manufacturer based in Carrollton, Georgia, U.S — realize education is a gift that can neither be taken away nor returned. They also recognize that their small Southern town, along with much of the United States and the rest of the world, suffers from an increasing number of secondary school dropouts. Instead of sitting around bemoaning the problem, however, Wiggins and his peers took action. The result: an innovative educational initiative called 12 for Life, which aims to teach students that, if they complete a full 12 years of education, they will have better lives.

“Southwire is and always has been a family owned company that values education,” said Wiggins, a 39-year veteran of the company who serves as executive vice president of human resources. “Over the last four or five years, many of us here have become increasingly concerned with the local high school dropout rate. We made the decision we would not be an organization or a people who sat around complaining about the issue. Rather, we pledged to do something constructive.”

According to Wiggins, members of a companywide committee worked hard to come up with a variety of proposals to assist students, which they subsequently submitted to the Carrollton County and city school boards. “Every idea we presented was rejected for one reason or another,” he remembered. “Looking back on it, that was probably a good thing.”

Undeterred, Wiggins and his posse went back to the drawing board. During one Saturday brainstorming session, a member of the group suggested setting aside part of one of the company's plants or establishing a factory to train at-risk high school kids in different capacities.

“At that moment, it was like a million lights came on,” said Wiggins. “Immediately, we made the decision that the training center shouldn't be in one of our existing facilities. Instead, we wanted to make sure it was a separate plant run by kids, for kids. We found the perfect building in which to do this just a few blocks from Southwire.”

By combining traditional classroom instruction with jobs inside a real manufacturing plant, the 12 for Life program allows students to not only earn their high school diploma, but also to receive competitive monetary wages and the necessary job skills needed after graduation.

Educators from the county's five participating high schools determine who qualifies as a 12 for Life candidate. After obtaining parental or guardian approval, each applicant undergoes a pre-employment testing and evaluation process, including drug screening. If selected, students work one of three 4-hour shifts — 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. — performing tasks such as repackaging wire, producing whips, and assembling spools and reels.

“To determine monetary compensation, we surveyed businesses such as fast-food restaurants and convenience stores to find out the pay scale that is typically available to high school students,” said Wiggins. “We found this runs anywhere from minimum wage to $7 an hour, so we set our hourly wage at $8 per hour.”

Southwire instituted several incentive programs to further compensate participants. Perfect attendance for any pay period is rewarded with an extra $0.50 an hour, while fulfilled production goals garner an additional $0.50 per hour.

“We want to demonstrate to the kids that, hey, this is a real job you've got here,” said Wiggins. “This plant has certain obligations placed upon it, just like any other Southwire operation, and we keep score. I'm proud to say that 12 for Life is sustaining itself even in the tough economic conditions we're experiencing now.”

In addition, Southwire has added extensive mentoring and tutoring programs. The first 12 for Life class graduated 12 members in May 2007. The May 2008 graduating class contained more than double that number, with 26 students. According to Wiggins, some of the graduates have gone on to attend college or technical school, others have joined the military and some now work for Southwire.

“The best news I have is that not one of the 12 for Life Southwire hires has been terminated for a rule infraction or drug screen failure,” added Wiggins. “To me, that says we're doing something right.”

Future plans for the program include expanding the number of classrooms to accommodate more tutors. There has also been talk of scaling back the program so that smaller towns with Southwire operations can implement something similar.

“Our great hope is that other businesses with the capability of doing something comparable would come see what we've done here in Carrollton, and be as enthused about it as we are,” said Wiggins. “We have a huge amount of pride at 12 for Life, but we don't have pride of authorship. We know there are businesses out there that could probably do this equal to, if not better, than we can. It's an incredible passion to those who touch it, and it's an experience none of us will ever forget.”