AIDT, Alabama’s workforce development agency, is reviving its multi-state Shift campaign, aiming to fill more than 11,000 automobile industry jobs.
Those jobs are available at automakers’ Alabama facilities and the network of suppliers across the state.
“The Shift campaign’s No. 1 goal is to get people interested in automotive jobs, even those people who already have jobs,” said Ed Castile, AIDT’s director. “We think when they see the possibilities, it will grab their interest enough for them to consider a career in the auto industry. Alabama is home to five of the top automotive companies in the world and their suppliers, so there are plenty of good jobs available.”
The Shift campaign aims to fill positions from management to production. Its centerpiece is the website shiftinalabama.com, which allows jobseekers to apply for open positions.
Castile said the 2023 Shift campaign will target potential workers in Alabama and other states, including Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee, specifically targeting people who are underemployed or who recently entered the workforce.
“This is a chance to get in on the ground floor as a new wave of technologies such as electric powertrains and artificial intelligence are reshaping the auto industry,” Castile said. “Technology is radically changing the cars we drive, as well as the factories where they are built — it’s phenomenal what is happening in these places.”
Among them, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and Mazda have invested $15 billion in their Alabama assembly operations. In addition, more than 150 suppliers have set up shop in the state, according to Alabama Department of Commerce data.
The Shift campaign was developed by Birmingham-based Big Communications.
