Don't miss the latest news and resources for workforce, training, job seekers & education!

Workforce News & Resources

brought to you by the Shoals Chamber & the ShoalsWORKS! Council

 

Presented by

 

April 10, 2024

 

Issue 32

 

Find archived issues HERE.
 
 

ATTENTION  EDUCATORS!

 

Informative & FUN

Professional Development Opportunity!

        • ALSDE-approved TEAMS PD Credit
        • ALSDE-approved PLU
        • Up to 56 Contact Hours

Transportation & Meals provided!

TESTIMONIALS

Dion Pulley

This was by far the best professional development in all of my 40 years of teaching. I used the information I learned to encourage my students to take my lessons more seriously. Thanks for allowing me to be a part of the program.

 

Lauryn Odle

Teachers who complete C2C are better equipped for preparing our students for their future. This is the best workshop I have ever attended; each year I encourage my fellow colleagues to take advantage of this rewarding experience.
 

Summer AEROSPACE Internship!

 

for High School and College Students

in ALABAMA and Colorado  ONLY

 

sponsored by

Aerospace States Association (ASA)
 

Exploring Entrepreneurship

ACCEPTING  REGISTRATIONS  NOW

Throughout 2024, Builders + Backers is offering free workshops open to any Alabama resident interested in exploring entrepreneurship.

 

Offered in partnership with the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA), with support from Innovate Alabama and the Alabama Community College System, residents are able to participate virtually or join in-person at select locations.

 

Stay tuned as we unveil the dates and times for additional workshops. For specifics on the webinar scheduled in a city near you, please continue to refer to the application for updated details.
 

80 Volunteers Needed!

April 30

7:45 - 11:30 a.m.

Northwest Shoals Community College

210 - 8th Graders

 

FUN, Personal Finance Simulation
 
 

5 Day All-Inclusive Camp + Music Event

JULY 9 - 13, 2024

Florence, AL

HELLO  RISING  STAR!

We hope you are interested in this one-of-a-kind unforgettable experience. Not only will you meet incredible colleagues from across the state, you will also learn technical skills and gain experience to jump-start your future.  From working with rock star industry professionals to making friends for a lifetime, you are about to embark on a journey that will CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

 

Who can apply for this exciting opportunity?​

​All Alabama students in grades 9-12 are invited to apply for the RNT+ 5-Day Experience camp. Only 30 applicants will be selected for the exclusive honor of attending the RNT+ 5-Day Experience camp. 

​

All Alabama high school graduates (including class of 2024 seniors) are invited to apply to become camp leaders. Only 6 camp leaders will be selected. 

 

College students may apply for mentor positions.

 

Application Deadline:  Saturday, April 13
 

UNA presents an opportunity for individuals seeking to unlock new career possibilities through the Code Alabama coding program.

 

Program Details:

  • Duration: May 20 to June 27, 2024
  • Schedule: Monday and Thursday, 5:30 to 8:30 pm

Invest in Yourself:

  • Registration Fee: $2,225
  • Deadline to Register: May 17, 2024

Funding Assistance and Scholarships Available:

  • Financial assistance and scholarship opportunities are available to qualified individuals. To apply, kindly submit a 3-4 minute video by April 30, 2024, addressing the following:
  • Technical background
  • Educational background
  • Interest in Code Alabama
  • Goals upon program completion
  • Anticipated impact on future prospects

CONTACT:

UNA Center for Learning and

Professional Development

ceu@una.edu

256-765-4862

UNA Box 5036

Florence, AL 35632-0001   

una.edu/professionaldevelopment 
 
 
 

Attention Manufacturers

 

FREE Nationwide Supply Chain Database
 

Talent acquisition: Build or buy?

 

When it comes to meeting your organization’s talent needs, you face a crucial decision: Do you build the talent you need internally, or do you acquire it externally? It's a question that every forward-thinking organization must grapple with.

While a combination of both approaches is often necessary, a proactive focus on early talent recruitment can yield long-term benefits for your organization. Consider the following examples:

  • The Stark Education Partnership (Ohio) partners with local schools to build a pipeline of skilled talent that wants to stay in their community after graduation.
  • 47G (Utah) is innovating its recruitment strategies to amplify career opportunities in the aerospace, defense, and cybersecurity industries with best-fit, emerging talent.
  • The CREATE Foundation (Mississippi) provides students with real-world experience in career pathways that align with students’ aptitudes and interests.

These examples illustrate the transformative power of talent development initiatives. By investing in proactive recruitment, education partnerships, and skills training, organizations can not only fill immediate talent gaps but also cultivate a thriving workforce poised for long-term success.
 

Alabama Registered Apprenticeship

(non-union)

Why would an employer be interested in an apprenticeship?

  • Availability of skilled workers is low.
    • Apprenticeship can help you create workers with exactly the skills needed.
  • Candidates lack real-world experience.
    • Apprentices get direct experience with your company.
  • Consistency of worker training is low.
    • Employers drive the work processes and standards apprentices must meet.
  • Skill requirements for workers continues to increase.
    • Learning in your facility means learning on exactly the equipment and processes used in your business.
  • Recruiting workers is difficult.
    • Letting workers know you are going to grow them into a career employee encourages positive culture and applications.
  • The most skilled and experienced people on the job are reaching retirement age.
    • The mentorship associated with an apprenticeship program connects veteran workers directly with the next generation.
Why would an employer need a REGISTERED apprenticeship?
 
ASSISTANCE - The AOA will help you build and customize a unique training plan to fit your needs.
QUALITY - Registered apprenticeships provide employers with a consistently high quality of workers.
INCENTIVES - Registration provides employers access to Alabama tax credits incentivizing apprenticeship training.
CREDENTIALS - Apprentices gain a nationally-recognized credential upon completion of training.
RETENTION - Federal studies show 91% of apprentices stay with the employers who trained them.
ADVANCEMENT - Apprenticeships are an excellent way to up-skill incumbent workers.
STRUCTURE - Put a framework on training you are already doing.
 
Searchable by State, Region and Metro Area

 

Alabama Interactive Occupational Employment and Wage Survey

Estimates are adjusted to reflect the most recent available quarter's

Employment Cost Index (ECI)

 

Interactive Reports - searchable by Area, Sector,

Occupation, Wage Level, etc.

(Alphabetical Occupations, Occupational Group Detail,

Occupations by Industry & Bubble Chart)​

 

Printable Reports (PDF), Searchable by Area:​

Florence Metro

NW Region

Statewide
 

Tootris is endorsed by

Alabama's Governor's Office of Education & Workforce Transformation

Child Care Benefits

 

How Companies are Achieving Positive ROI

with Child Care Benefits

Watch HR experts at leading companies such as MATA, ALPLA & TBAKI share their perspectives on the significance of Child Care Benefits in their workplace:

"By partnering with TOOTRiS, we're appealing to a new generation of workers who care about the community and want to work for an organization that cares about them."

Bacarra Mauldin - MATA, Deputy Chief Executive Officer
 

Resources to

Hire & Train Veterans

Find multiple resources to hire and train Veterans to fill your job openings on the Shoals Workforce Resources website.
 

New North AL Resource!

Career Connect

EMPLOYERS 

Register your jobs at HERE and they will be listed in the

North Alabama Career Connects system.

 

JOB  SEEKERS

Take a few minutes and answer a few questions to create your digital resume,

then find a job in the region to move your CAREER forward! 

Career Connect is there to help every step of the way.
 

Chamber Member Job Board

Attention Employers!

Post your job openings for FREE!

 

Contact the Chamber if you need assistance.

256-764-4661, snewland@shoalschamber.com

 
 

Customized Workforce Training

~ at No Cost ~

For more information contact Andrew Robbins at andrew.robbins@nwscc.edu, 256-331-5218. 
 

Attention Employers!

RECRUIT from COLLEGES  

around the State & Region

CONNECT  DIRECTLY

to over 40 Colleges' & Universities'

Career Centers & Employer Services pages HERE.

 

Recruit from colleges in The Shoals, the State & the SE Region

for your next full- or part-time employees, interns, co-ops or apprentices.

 

Each College listed is linked directly to its Career Center.

QUICK  LOCAL  LIINKS

to Shoals institutions:

 

Heritage Christian University

 

Northwest Shoals Community College

 

University of North Alabama
 

(Check out the new NWSCC logo!)

Find Your Next Employees through

NWSCC Career Center

The Career Center at Northwest-Shoals Community College understands the value of transforming high-quality education into gainful employment. Our services prepare students to make informed decisions about their strengths and values as they discover future paths for success.

 

For more information contact;

     Amanda Peters

     Career Center Coordinator

     256-331-8062

     amanda.terry@nwscc.edu
 

To find ATN's most recent newsletters, Network News,

chocked full of Training and Networking resources

Click HERE 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 ATN provides many FREE monthly 

Environmental Health & Safety Webinars 

Click HERE

for more information. 
 

Attention Students & Job Seekers!

Using your skills, credentials, and experiences to match you to the next step in your career pathway.

Students and Job Seekers who participate in the Alabama Talent Triad can expect opportunities to create a skill-based Learning & Employment Record (LER) that will match their resume(s) with Alabama employers seeking candidates that have similar skills, credentials, and/or work experience. This allows for our intuitive data platform to provide relevant job recommendations based on shared resume skills, credentials, and experiences.

 

For those seeking new skills to become competitive in the marketplace, the Alabama Talent Triad provides recommended learning, apprenticeships, and upskilling opportunities as well as resources for scholarships in order to help support continued learning.

 

By maintaining a Digital Wallet, Students and Jobseekers can build their Learning & Employment Records (LER) through retirement at no cost. The State of Alabama is committed to supporting the career aspirations of all Alabamians.

 

Earn the skills that pay the bills.

All it takes is one decision to register for a state-funded program that can ensure learning and employment opportunities as long as you’re willing to participate. It doesn’t take much to get started. Take a look at these short, informational videos to see what you’ll gain from the Alabama Talent Triad.
 

Network each month with other HR Professionals

 

Shoals SHRM

2nd Thursday of each Month

11:30 - 1:00 

First Metro Bank

Pine Street, Florence, AL

 

Lunch:  $10 Members;  $15 Non-Members

 

RSVP to shoals.shrm@gmail.com

 

Meetings & Events page:

 https://shoalschaptershrm.shrm.org/events
 

Chamber Member Businesses

FREE Job Board

Current Job Listings
 

Statewide Job Board


Alabamaworks.alabama.gov is a great FREE resource for Alabama citizens and businesses.

  • Post jobs
  • Look for jobs (searchable by zip code or city)
  • Research careers and pathways
  • Information to help you move your career forward

For more information, contact:

     Alabama Career Center (Sheffield) 

     Sheffield@alcc.alabama.gov

     (256) 383‑5610

     500 South Montgomery Ave., Suite 102, Sheffield
 

Chamber Partner Program

 

Donations always appreciated!

DONATTIONS  ARE  ALWAYS  NEEDED  &  APPRECIATED!

 

All donations are tax-deductible, made to the

Shoals Area Chamber Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit.

 

Cash for new supplies, gently used school & office supplies, equipment,

furniture, etc. are  needed to assist our educators in the classroom.

 

For more information, contact:

Mary Beshears, (256) 710-1436, jbeshears@yahoo.com
 

Top 10 Best

Scholarship Search Platforms

It's never too early to begin the search

for college scholarships!

Even if you have a good summer job, you likely won’t make enough to pay for college. You also might not have the money you need to cover your living expenses, textbooks and a dorm room.

 

That is why you need to look for scholarships that will cover some or all of those costs.

 

Scholarship programs often include funds that go unclaimed each year and offer money that you do not need to repay. As you start your career, you don’t want to worry about loans and how you will pay them when you have other bills to worry about.

 

Using college scholarship search platforms is the easiest way to find programs that you qualify for and learn how to get that money. We ranked the 10 best scholarship search platforms that you can use while planning for the future.  [Click below to get the list.]
 

A platform for international students to search for scholarships around the world. Our mission is to provide an accessible way for international students to search and find comprehensive, accurate, and updated scholarship information.
 

Connect with Your Future Workforce 

through Career Tech Educators

Colbert County Schools

Florence City Schools

Lauderdale County Schools

Muscle Shoals City Schools

Sheffield City Schools

Tuscumbia City Schools
 

NEWS  &  RESOURCES

This toolkit is designed as a guide for employers interested in developing a new high school internship program or improving an existing one.

 

Kilby Robotics Teams Headed to World Championship, Fundraiser Announced to Assist Students

Read the full story HERE.
From Alabama Public Radio

 

Help with fundraising below:

 

https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/30477/donations/new?a=5771686

  1.  Look for the "Area of Support Tab" and select the College of Education and Human Sciences.
  2. Under this heading, scroll down and look for "Kilby Greatest Needs Fund".
  3. From there, simply fill out all the required information and checkout using one of the options listed at the bottom of the page.
 

If you have

Job Opportunities for

Lexington High School Students,

please post them HERE.

 

Questions?  Jared Hines, H. S. Counselor, jared.hines@lcschools.org, (256) 229-6622.
 

Don't miss all the great events, activities & workshops at the Library!

Keep the whole family busy & learning!

 

See the Upcoming Events at the top left on the Home Page.

Find them on Facebook here.
 

Whether you or your kids are into workforce education, farming, food safety, financial education, gardening, 4-H Club, raising chickens, keeping bees, learning archery, or so much more, the Lauderdale County Cooperative Extension office has a program for you!

 

Check out their Calendar of Events for the myriad of events and workshops that might be of interest.  Keep a check on their Facebook page as well. 
 

A Better Path Connecting Education to the Real World

YouScience® Brightpath is the only aptitude-based guidance platform that leverages data and technology to help individuals identify their aptitudes, validate their skills, and get matched with educational and career pathways.

 

Brightpath brings all of your career, technical education (CTE) and pathway development applications together in a comprehensive platform designed to make your work easier and more fulfilling.
 

Thank you to our ShoalsWORKS! Workforce Champion Sponsors!