Jobs are important. They are crucial to a thriving economy and growing community.
That is an obvious statement, but as important as jobs are to individuals and communities, many jobseekers, employees, employers and business leaders are not aware of the resources available to them. This is where North Alabama Works steps in.
North Alabama Works, a non-profit organization, is a workforce council covering 13 counties and is made up of business, industry, education, government, chamber of commerce and economic development organizations. Some of North Alabama Works’s partners include the Alabama Department of Commerce, the Alabama Technology Network (ATN), the Alabama Department of Labor and the Alabama Career Center System.
According to the organization’s website, over 75 percent of voting membership represents business and industry.
Each county is represented on the 30-member board of directors by two business or industrial leaders and there are four at-large members. Franklin County is represented by G&G Steel’s Bret Gist, and the search for a second representative is in progress. The board of directors meets on a quarterly basis.
“We have two representatives from each county so that business owners and leaders have someone local they can talk to,” said North Alabama Works assistant director Stephanie McCulloch.
The goal of North Alabama Works, according to McCulloch, is to do everything it can to support the workforce and the businesses and industries in the area.
“We eat, sleep and breathe workforce development,” McCulloch said. “We want to be the eyes and ears of business and industry in north Alabama. If we know of resources that can help, we want people and businesses to know where and how they can use them.”
One service the organization provides is connecting workers and organizations to programs in order to establish a more educated and trained workforce.
“Part of what we’re doing is talking with businesses so they can let us know what they need,” McCulloch said. “They can relay to us issues they may have like high turnover or maybe there’s some sort of training that employees need. The more we know the better we can help them receive the resources or information they need.”
North Alabama Works is multifaceted; not just focusing on the existing workforce but also collaborating with schools and educators to prepare students to enter the local workforce in the future.
“We’re here to develop a pipeline between the workers and the businesses and industries in the area,” McCulloch said. “We’re here for the current, future and senior workforce.”
“Much of our workforce is nearing retirement and businesses will need workers to fill in the gaps. Career tech centers and community colleges, especially, are instrumental to the future of our local workforce,” McCulloch added.
North Alabama Works is also there to assist individuals on the job market.
“If you need help finding a job or need help getting training for a job, we’re here to help with that, too,” McCulloch said.
But as much as North Alabama Works can do for individual workers and businesses and industries as a whole, McCulloch said the real work is getting the word out.
“People don’t know what they don’t know,” she said. “If people don’t know about North Alabama Works and don’t know what we’re here to do, then obviously we can’t be of much service.”
“We want everyone to know that we’re here to help, provide resources and information, and do everything in our power to make the workforce in Franklin County and every other county in our region as strong as possible.”
To learn more about North Alabama Works, individuals or business and industry leaders can visit northalabamaworks.com or call Stephanie McCulloch in Muscle Shoals at 256-436-0411.
