Clayco Turns $5B Rivian Plant Into a Local Trades Training Pipeline

Clayco and its nonprofit affiliate, the Construction Career Development Initiative, are using the $5 billion Rivian electric vehicle plant in Georgia as a training ground for local residents. Rivian put $50,000 toward the effort and Clayco and its subcontracting partners raised another $220,000, funding a free 20-day pre-apprenticeship whose first cohort has already produced hires. Construction Dive profiled the program on October 20.

What Happened

The program is designed to open paths into the skilled trades for people who live near the project while builders ramp up work on the plant (Construction Dive). After Clayco raised the idea of CCDI with Rivian, the automaker invested $50,000 to fund pre-apprenticeship training, scholarships, internships and career exposure throughout the project, and Clayco and its subcontractors added $220,000 (Construction Dive).

Tony Mezines, executive vice president at Clayco and project executive on the Rivian build, told the outlet that client investment in workforce development "can really amplify the success of the program" (Construction Dive).

The Project

CJ Adventures, a joint venture of Clayco and JE Dunn, is building a 4.5 million square foot EV manufacturing campus in Stanton Springs, Georgia, according to Construction Dive. Groundbreaking took place in September 2025 and the state expects completion by 2030 (Construction Dive). WCG covered the plant's progress and financing in Rivian's $5 Billion Georgia EV Plant Enters Vertical Construction Phase as DOE Loan Is Restructured.

How the Training Works

• Format: A fully funded, 20-day pre-apprenticeship delivered by the Georgia nonprofit Construction Ready (Construction Dive).
• Cohorts: The first cohort, with 24 local residents, is one of three planned over the next year (Monroe Local). Participants ranged in age from 18 to 53, according to the program's announcement (Monroe Local).
• Credentials: Graduates could earn up to eight industry-recognized credentials and met contractors and employers during training (Construction Dive).
• Location: The first cohort trained at a Rivian-hosted space at the state-run Georgia BioScience Training Center in Social Circle, with hands-on craft work such as building a bench (Construction Dive; Monroe Local).
• Placement: The program's announcement included a hiring fair on October 6 and graduation on October 9, and said up to 97 percent of graduates were expected to be placed in jobs (Monroe Local). That figure was a projection, and neither source reports the final placement rate.

Rachel Boemer Ashlock, program director at CCDI, told Construction Dive that Construction Ready had mostly trained on Atlanta's west side before this program, and that east side residents were glad to avoid a long commute across the city (Construction Dive).

Early Results

Construction Dive profiled Aleem Rashid, 37, who spent about a decade overseeing home renovations in real estate before the Atlanta market cooled in 2024. He completed the first cohort and was hired by Concrete Strategies, a concrete contractor wholly owned by Clayco (Construction Dive). He told the outlet he valued the follow-up and support he received after the program ended.

Clayco also awarded two scholarships to University of Georgia students, with the aim of bringing them on as interns and later as full-time employees, and Mezines said the project can attract future project managers and civil engineers as well as trades workers (Construction Dive).

What Comes Next

Work on the plant has not fully ramped up, and the next cohort will move to the jobsite for more integrated training. Mezines said the timing should allow high school seniors who met recruiters at career fairs to take part (Construction Dive).

Implications for Owners, Developers, Contractors and Subs

For owners, the model shows how a relatively small owner contribution, here $50,000, can be paired with contractor and subcontractor money to build a local labor pool for a long project. On a multiyear industrial build, a steady local pipeline can reduce reliance on traveling crews and per diem costs.

For general contractors, tying training to a specific jobsite gives trainees a clear destination and gives the builder a recruiting channel. The involvement of a contractor-owned concrete firm in hiring graduates shows how vertically integrated builders can capture that pipeline directly.

For subcontractors, contributing to the $220,000 pool is a way to get early access to entry-level workers before the peak of the job. Subs on large manufacturing projects elsewhere may see similar asks from GCs.

The program arrives as the industry continues to struggle with hiring. WCG reported this week on research showing immigrants accounted for all trades workforce growth since 2013 in Harvard Study: Immigrants Drove All Trades Workforce Growth Since 2013, which underscores why contractors are investing in domestic training pipelines.

What to Watch

• Placement results from the first cohort and enrollment for the second and third cohorts.
• Whether jobsite-based training starts as vertical work on the plant increases.
• Whether other owners on large Southeast manufacturing projects adopt similar funding arrangements.

Bottom Line

A $270,000 combined investment from Rivian, Clayco and its subcontractors is funding three free training cohorts tied to one of the largest manufacturing builds in Georgia. The first group has graduated and at least one participant is now working in concrete for a Clayco company. The next test is how many trainees stay on the job as the plant moves toward its 2030 target.

Related Coverage

• Rivian's $5 Billion Georgia EV Plant Enters Vertical Construction Phase as DOE Loan Is Restructured
• Harvard Study: Immigrants Drove All Trades Workforce Growth Since 2013
• One Million Apprentices: The $265 Million Federal Push to Rebuild America's Construction Workforce Pipeline
• More Firms Cut Staff Than Added It, Yet 87% Still Have Craft Openings

Image credit: Courtesy of Clayco, via Construction Dive. Image from the source article.

Sources

• Construction Dive, "Help Wanted: Clayco uses $5B Rivian factory as training opportunity": https://www.constructiondive.com/news/help-wanted-clayco-rivian-factory-training/833364/
• Monroe Local (Construction Career Development Initiative release), "First of three skilled trades training cohorts underway in Social Circle": https://news.monroelocal.org/first-of-three-skilled-trades-training-cohorts-underway-in-social-circle/