The Alabama Community College System (ACCS) Innovation Center on Monday officially opened and announced the launch of its first industry-crafted programs to help students find immediate employment.
The ACCS Innovation Center was established as a $10 million investment to train workers to fill jobs in the state’s high-demand industries. ACCS leadership, students and industry partners were on hand for the center’s opening, where event attendees were showcased some of the training that will be provided.
According to a release, students can begin short-term training classes anywhere in the state and complete with an in-person lab in a regional ACCS location. Once the trainings are complete, students are job-ready and awarded a credential. Students have opportunities to earn additional credentials at their local community college.
ACCS chancellor Jimmy H. Baker outlined the Innovation Center’s role in expediting student training.
“Every Alabamian deserves an opportunity to succeed in the state’s economy. It’s not always that someone needs two years at the community college to make them have the skills viable for the labor market, so we have found a way to expedite the training so we can move people more rapidly into the market,” advised Baker. “The Innovation Center is where we house people to devote to the process of developing curriculum for training, no matter what it may be, so that residents can take those credentials and either get to work or get promoted with the right skills for their job.”
The ACCS noted business leaders’ sentiments regarding rapid training, indicating that it could serve to solve Alabama’s supply chain and worker shortage woes.
The first in-demand industries identified for Innovation Center rapid training were hospitality, butchery, commercial drivers license (CDL), recreation, heavy equipment, plumbing and facilities maintenance.
Alabama Trucking Association president and CEO Mark Colson hailed the Innovation Center as being vital in placing certified individuals into the trucking industry, which he said is presently facing a significant scarcity of professional drivers.
“America’s commercial trucking industry is facing a critical shortage of about 80,000 professional drivers,” said Colson. “Here in Alabama, trucking already provides 112,000-plus jobs – about 1 out 15 in the state. These are high-quality jobs offering great pay and endless career path opportunities. We are proud to partner with the Alabama Community College System to ramp up efforts to attract and connect job seekers with the training they need to enter the trucking industry. The ACCS Innovation Center is the right program to supercharge the availability of CDL offerings in our state and enhance the existing programs that are already preparing our future workforce.”
According to the ACCS, the Innovation Center has coordinated with the Alabama Tourism Department to assist workers train and seek job placement in the state’s $16 billion hospitality industry through a $1 million grant awarded by Gov. Kay Ivey. The system advised that all graduates of the pilot training project housed at Coastal Community College were hired upon completing the training.
Dr. Cynthia T. Anthony, president of Lawson State Community College, expressed excitement over the school’s collaboration with the ACCS Innovation Center and touted the training as being critical to meeting industry demands.
“Lawson State is excited about this opportunity to continue to connect with the great network of ACCS colleges through the Innovation Center,” stated Anthony. “We are so glad to see the birth of this new center as it will showcase our creativity and our ability to meet the needs of our local industries and grant us access to partnerships that will aid in enhancing the opportunities we are able to present to our students and the community.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
