At the Business Council of Alabama (BCA), we talk a lot about collaboration and partnerships, but I want to take some time today to discuss what that truly looks like.
Whether it is workforce development, infrastructure investment, tax and regulatory policies or even childcare, all these issues are critical to our state’s overall economic growth and stability. Addressing these issues requires a diverse group of players coming to the table and working together to achieve an overarching strategy.
Enhancing Alabama’s approach to collaboration, coordination and long-term economic planning was central to BCA’s Working for Alabama legislative package. Thankfully, Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Legislature led the way and secured passage of the package.
Working for Alabama tackled a variety of issues, including reorganizing the Department of Labor into the Department of Workforce.
The new agency is the result of years of planning and partnership by key players in the state’s public and private sectors, and it is led by a longtime friend of Alabama’s business community, Secretary Greg Reed.
As Senate Pro Tem, Reed was a leading advocate for the Working for Alabama package and sponsored the legislation creating the Alabama Growth Alliance Act. That legislation strengthened collaboration and improved coordination across the public and private sectors in the state. It unified workforce development, education and economic growth efforts and encouraged cooperation among businesses, educators and state agencies.
Together, policymakers and the business community laid the groundwork and created institutions that are working in real time to deliver results for the people of Alabama and our business community.
Today, the new Department of Workforce has already hit the ground running and is working to improve the lives of Alabamians. The secretary and his team are moving at the speed of business and not the speed of government.
They have been laser-focused on strengthening education and training, consolidating efforts across state government to operate more efficiently and reducing red tape. They are raising awareness about resources and apprenticeships available to Alabamians.
The Department recently created a central data hub to track regional workforce data. The new hub enables a more targeted approach to business recruitment and leverages workforce programs to address areas of need.
Earlier this month, the Department opened the Athens-Limestone Career Center at Athens State University. This career center is a prime example of government being proactive and responsive to the ever-evolving job market in hotspots around the state.
The new center will connect job seekers with employers and act as the nexus for workforce development programs in a rapidly growing region.
The Department also played a key role in securing an $11 million federal grant for the Hallmark Farms project. This partnership will reclaim abandoned mine land, create jobs and drive economic growth in Jefferson County.
These are real projects with real results that will directly and positively benefit Alabamians. At BCA, we are always focused on making a tangible impact for the business community and the more than a million hardworking Alabamians we represent.
Our relationships with state and federal leaders enable us to advance innovative free-market ideas that drive growth, and these relationships are strengthened through successful collaboration among business leaders, educators and policymakers.
And the Department of Workforce is proving daily that it is an example of what successful collaboration looks like. But we know it won’t be the last, and I am excited about what lies ahead for our great state.
Helena Duncan is the president and CEO of the Business Council of Alabama.
