When Keith Phillips talks about workforce development, he doesn’t begin with strategy documents or economic forecasts. He starts in Skipperville, a tiny dot on the map in Dale County where he grew up and graduated from George W. Long High School. He also starts with Wallace Community College in Dothan, where he earned an associate degree before life sent him into teaching, then banking and eventually back to the Alabama Community College System to work.
That was 15 years ago, and now Phillips is deputy chancellor for workforce and economic development for ACCS, as well as executive director of ATN (recently rebranded from the Alabama Technology Network to the Alabama Training Network). In those positions, he oversees the extensive workforce programs that have evolved under the tenure of Chancellor Jimmy Baker.
OWNING THE MISSION
Over the past decade, the state’s 24 community colleges have expanded their scope, building on the workforce training components that they offer, Phillips says.
“We’re listening to what our communities and our business and industry partners need, and we’re aligning what we do to that,” he says. “That’s ultimately creating success for our colleges, but most importantly, for our students.”
Part of the change has come from leadership at the ACCS, including Baker and members of the board of trustees who come from business and industry, Phillips says, but another part came from industry itself. Employers facing tight labor markets and increasingly complex technologies needed partners who could respond quickly, train effectively and deliver job-ready people.
If Phillips has a mantra, it is this: No one trains for the sake of training.
Companies call when something needs to get better — productivity, equipment uptime, safety, employee retention or simply the confidence of supervisors trying to lead. Every training request has a “why,” and ACCS starts there.
“When you understand the reason behind the request,” Phillips says, “you know what success looks like for that company.”
MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH BEGINS WITH COLLEGES
Workforce development at ACCS isn’t a single office — it’s a network with several connected pieces.
“It’s kind of a three-, maybe four-legged stool,” Phillips says, and it begins with the colleges, most of which have a workforce development office and provide non-credit training (Phillips prefers “professional credit”) for business and industry. That might include OSHA refreshers, forklift certifications, basic electrical instruction and much more.
ACCS INNOVATION CENTER
The second leg is the ACCS Innovation Center in Decatur. Born out of a dinner conversation, in just over four years the center has grown from zero to more than 80 short courses known as Skills for Success.
Each course begins with a statewide industry task force that identifies the skills employers want. A subject matter expert works with course designers while the training is developed. Students taking the courses complete online theory at their own pace, then report to a college campus for hands-on labs where they demonstrate they can perform the work. More than 50,000 Alabamians have enrolled so far. More than 23,000 credentials have been issued.
“If somebody needs to change careers or get a marketable skill, these courses can get them there in 40 to 80 hours,” Phillips says. “The idea is to get people to an employable skill and credential as quickly as possible, so it’s creating mobility for people who might be under-skilled or unskilled or not in the labor force.”
ALABAMA TRAINING NETWORK (ATN)
ATN, which Phillips leads, delivers most of the system’s advanced industry training — everything from robotics to industrial hydraulics to ISO certification. The name is changing to the Alabama Training Network (from Alabama Technology Network) in early 2026 to make its purpose clearer.
ATN’s staff of 66 is spread across college campuses statewide. Collectively, they bring more than 1,300 years of manufacturing and technical experience to their classrooms, which are usually the factory floors of the companies they serve. Ninety-nine percent of training takes place on site, using either company equipment or ATN’s mobile teaching tools.
“That’s one thing our clients really like, the real-world training,” Phillips says. “We train in a production environment.”
ADULT EDUCATION
Behind all the technical training is a fourth element: adult education. Though not officially a workforce program, Phillips says it is, with ACCS helping Alabamians earn their GEDs and build soft skills — punctuality, workplace communication and digital readiness — that will help get them ready to work.
“When you talk to business and industry, the development of soft skills is high on their list,” Phillips says. “Many have identified the lack of soft skills as one of their largest barriers to hiring good talent.”
STAYING RELEVANT IN THE WORKFORCE
Ask Phillips what’s coming, and he doesn’t hesitate. Technology is changing faster than training systems have ever had to adapt — automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics. Not every job will survive that shift.
But the jobs that do survive will require higher skills, sharper thinking and the ability to apply theory in hands-on settings.
“AI can tell you something’s about to break,” he says. “But AI can’t fix the machine.”
The challenge — and opportunity — is to help workers who may be displaced by automation move into new technical roles, and ACCS is designing its programs for exactly that: short, competency-based training that teaches people how to troubleshoot, apply concepts and stay employable in a world that isn’t slowing down.
“Workforce has to be focused on industry needs and the student, meeting industry where they are and meeting the students or incumbent workers where they are, with training delivered in a timely way,” Phillips says. “Someone with true skill and knowledge is going to be hard to replace by AI. Everyone is going to have to look at opportunities to stay relevant and valuable in the workforce.”
Alec Harvey is executive editor of Business Alabama, working from the Birmingham office and Art Meripol is a Birmingham-based freelance contributor.
This article appears in the January 2026 issue of Business Alabama.
