Secondary and post-secondary educators, administrators, counselors, career coaches, career services professionals, human resource managers and recruiters from around the Birmingham region attended the Birmingham Business Alliance’s Managing the Talent Pipeline Workshop at the Alabama Workforce Training Center last week.
Waymond Jackson, vice president of workforce development at the BBA addresses workforce professionals at the workshop.
The workshop gave participants the opportunity to discuss successful programs and challenges facing the Birmingham and Alabama workforce. It also informed workforce providers about the Birmingham economy, changing workforce trends and resources that exist to help connect talent to opportunities and training in the Birmingham area.
Participants learned about local workforce development programs such as the Bold Goals initiative, Alabama Works, the Innovate Birmingham Regional Workforce Partnership, DepotU, the Talent Pipeline Management program and the Academy of Craft Training at the Alabama Workforce Training Center, from community partners such as United Way of Central Alabama, Central Six Alabama Works, the Associated Builders and Contractors, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Innovation Depot and the Birmingham Business Alliance.
Professionals from workforce resource departments highlighted the important role education in k-12 plays in the local and state workforce.
“We’ve got to do workforce development, but also build a system for every student to be ready through the next several generations,” said Dan Stephens, vice president of community impact and education at United Way. “The need for highly skilled talent is only increasing.”
Attendees tour the AWTC training facility.
“The roles played by employers, nonprofits and workforce providers are changing in Alabama and the Birmingham region,” said Waymond Jackson, vice president of workforce development for the Birmingham Business Alliance. “The workforce development system is more aligned around meeting the needs of industry than ever before.”
Earlier this year, the BBA was chosen to participate in the U.S. Chambers Talent Pipeline Management Academy. Last week’s workshop was just the start of the BBA’s strategy to align workforce providers with the hiring needs of industries under the Talent Pipeline Management program.
In January 2017, the initiative will be rolled out to all regional workforce stakeholders.