It was a packed house at the Embassy Suites in Montgomery when Gov. Kay Ivey hosted the first Pathways to Careers summit last month. The event focused on uniting business men and women, educators, agency officials and others to discuss and share platforms for training the state’s future workforce to meet industry needs for qualified candidates.

Secretary Greg Canfield, Alabama Department of Commerce, touted workforce development as the key in recruiting companies such as Mazda-Toyota and Amazon.

“As a state, we are truly aligned in this endeavor,” he said.

One of those keys to alignment is Apprenticeship Alabama, an AIDT program that unites post-secondary students with businesses. The student attends college (paid for by the business) while working and earning a wage in his/her field of choice. The participating industry gets a tax credit and the ability to grow its own workforce.

Another one of the day’s panels focused on aligning work-based learning programs with workforce needs.

“Everything is changing rapidly. But, we customize our programs to wrap around industry’s needs,” said Ed Castile, deputy secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce and director of AIDT. “The best recruits (for businesses) we see are high school career tech and two-year college students. It (the Alabama Community College System) is helping us provide a workforce pipeline, and K-12 feeding into the ACCS is a plus.”

Tommy Glasscock, assistant state superintendent/career and technical education for the Alabama State Department of Education’s workforce development division, added another approach would also be beneficial. “The regional workforce councils will be valuable in helping us collect data for Perkins V, which now requires areas to identify the high-wage, high-skill, in-demand occupations so that local colleges and school systems can tailor their programs to match. The needs assessment will also look at strategies to address the needs of underserved populations to identify ways to close their performance gaps.”

Other featured speakers also spoke about aligning education with workforce needs.

According to ALSDE Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey, this has already begun in the K-12 system. “We are doing a number of things to build our foundation. We have reading and math initiatives in place. We are turning these students into being workforce-ready, and we are modernizing our career technical education programs.”

ACCS Chancellor Dr. Jimmy Baker said that the paradigm of everyone needing to attend a four-year institution has to shift. “We must change the attitude of what it means to be a worker.”

Other speakers included Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington, who gave an update on the state’s low unemployment rate, and Nichelle Nix, director of the Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs, who provided information about STEM apprenticeships with Alabama’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

You may also want to watch WSFA‘s coverage of the summit.

One  company is doing its  part to help Gov. Ivey get more people working in Alabama.

Dixie Electric is now part of the Alabama Dept. of Commerce’s Apprenticeship Alabama program, which operates under AIDT.

It’s not everyday that people get the chance to study in their future career and earn money at the same time, but for 24 local electricians, that is the case as they start learning everything they need to know in the electrician industry – an industry that is in high demand.

Read more at Alabama News Networks or watch the video.

By: Donny Jones, Director
West AlabamaWorks!

As the state’s automotive manufacturers and automotive supplier companies have rapidly expanded in recent years and their work has become increasingly high-tech, the industry has consistently faced challenges in recruiting and retaining enough qualified workers.

Almost 40,000 employees work in Alabama’s automotive manufacturing sector, and now with Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA constructing a new, $1.6 billion joint venture assembly plant in Huntsville, the state’s need for qualified automotive workers will intensify. Construction is set to begin in 2019, and the facility will employ at least 4,000 workers, with an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles, says Ed Castile, deputy secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce and director of the state’s worker training agency, AIDT.

Business Alabama

Alabama experienced a job growth rate of 2.2 percent from December 2017 to December 2018, the largest over-the-year percentage growth on record. This growth represents an increase of 44,300 jobs.

“We are ending 2018 with great economic news all around,” said Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington. “To see this kind of record job growth is extraordinary. Alabama employers have added nearly 45,000 jobs over the past year – economists predicted that our economy would grow by 27,000 jobs. I’m happy to say that we more than exceeded their predictions.”

Click here to read more.

Teachers from west Alabama are getting hands-on exposure to careers with local companies that don’t require a four-year degree, and they are excited about sharing this information with their students.

Many of the educators confessed that they were unaware of the opportunities at some of the companies they visited and were surprised at what careers were available in their own areas.

Watch the video below from West AlabamaWorks! Educator Workforce Academy participants when they recently visited Mercedes-Benz for a tour and presentation.

By: Fitzgerald Washington
Secretary, Alabama Department of Labor

To read more, visit  the Alabama Political Reporter.

Be in the know, hear great speakers, network and participate in thought-provoking breakout sessions at this year’s Alabama Works! Workforce conference.It will be held in Birmingham from Tues., April 23 – Thurs., April 25.

Click herenow to get the early-bird special price.

• Blue Origin Team Breaks Ground in Huntsville. Cullman Times
• NextFlex Partners With Boeing for National Expansion of Program. BusinessWire
• EMT: NW-Shoals is Hopeful New Tuition Program Will Spur Interest. Courier Journal
• Alabama Students Among Those in the Nation to Receive NBT Manufacturing Scholarships. TheFabricator.com
• Scholarships Available for Single Mothers Interested in STEM-Related Fields. Wallace State
• Wallace State Sonography Program Graduates Full Class of 30. Wallace State
• Wallace State-Oneonta EMS Program Proving Successful for Inaugural Class. Wallace State

• Walmart Raises Rates for CDL Holders. AL.com
• FAME Program Places Students in High-Demand Jobs. WAAY

Recently, a group from Virginia flew to Tuscaloosa to meet with the West AlabamaWorks! team and learn more about the programs and initiatives for growing a trained workforce and closing the gap between unfilled jobs and potential employees.

Watch an interview from the visit at WBRC.

• Mercedes Seeks Applicants for Training Programs. Tuscaloosa News

PowerUp!, a hands-on construction exploration event for mothers and daughters, is returning to Birmingham via Central Six AlabamaWorks! on March 12, from 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM, at the AIDT/Alabama Workforce Training Center.

The night will feature dynamic speakers, construction-related businesses and industry representatives who will provide information about careers and construction-based education and opportunities.

To register your company or to attend, click here.

Worlds of Work, a hands-on career expo for eighth-graders, will enter its second year March 16-17 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center. It will expose students to jobs that do not require a four-year degree.

The deadline for schools from the metro Birmingham area to register is March 8, while businesses wanting to participate have until March 15. They both can register here.

To learn more, watch the video from last year here.

• Churches, Schools Offer Free English classes in Shelby County. 280Living
• Bevill State to receive $10K Grant. Daily Mountain Eagle
• BSCC, Kelley Health Services Partner for CNA Program. Daily Mountain Eagle
• How This Southern City is Making Tech Work for People. Next City
• Rees Scholarship Foundation Awards $65K to Aspiring HVACR Technicians, Some in Alabama. theNEWS
• Discussion Focuses on Challenges, Strengths of HBCUs. The Birmingham Times

• Hyundai Production Numbers Down; SUV Surging. The Randle Report
• Start-Ups Compete for $50,000. WSFA
• Alabama Power, B.A.S.S Award Scholarships to Two Alabamians. Alabama NewsCenter
• Being a First-Responder is a Way of Life for Harrison. Selma Times-Journal
• SUSCC Welcomes New Workforce Development Staff. Opelika Observer

• Themes, Including STEM, Announced for Dothan Schools. Dothan Eagle
• Wallace Announces Surgery Tech Program. Dothan Eagle
• Companies Move Forward With Airport Plans. Andalusia Star-News
• State School Superintendent Visits G-Tech Center. WTVY

• Airbus Breaks Ground on New Assembly Line. Alabama NewsCenter
• AIDT to Assist in Filling 600 Airbus Positions. Alabama NewsCenter
• Bishop State Prepares Out-of-School Youth for Workforce with New Program. Fox10

• Governor Announces Grant for Early Childhood Education. WAFF
• State’s Pre-K is Best in Class. Birmingham Watch
• First Rural Broadband Grants Awarded. Yellowhammer
• Opportunity Zones Create a Buzz. Alabama NewsCenter
• Alabama Needs to Prepare Students for Auto Industry of the Future. AL.com
• Governor Ivey Continues to Champion Workforce Development. Alabama NewsCenter

• STEM Instruction: Who Gets It and How Much? EdWeek
• GE Goes High-Tech in Recruiting. Industry Week
• Future Jobs Will Require Hybrid Skills. WSJ