Second Annual SAWDC Worlds of Opportunity Career Expo A
Success
September 28-29, 2011
What does it take to have a successful future? That's the
question that was asked of more than 9,500 area eighth graders in
September of 2011 at the second annual SAWDC Worlds of Opportunity
Career Expo. Public and private school students visited the Greater
Gulf State Fairgrounds in Mobile over the course of a two-day
period for a hands-on, interactive career exploration experience
led by business professionals from twelve key South Alabama
industries. The resounding message to students attending this
event was that there are three ingredients to success: graduate
from high school, remain drug free, and the lifestyle choices of
today will have a direct impact on future success.
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Workforce Solutions on Wheels
In an era of fast paced technology, Alabama's community colleges
have taken learning to the next level. Thanks to a $4.9 million
Community-Based Job Training grant awarded by the Department of
Labor to the Department of Postsecondary Education, job training
has gone mobile.
Five custom made mobile units, packed with state-of-the-art
equipment will provide an exciting and engaging method of job
training in the field of industrial engineering technology. The
mobile units will travel to and be used by five community colleges
in southwest Alabama to send students down career pathways of
high-growth and high-demand occupations in our area.
This was all made possible through the Southwest Alabama
Industrial Engineering Consortium including Alabama Southern
Community College, Bishop State Community College, Faulkner State
Community College, Jefferson Davis Community College, Reid State
Technical College, the Alabama Community College System and the
Alabama Technology Network. With the valuable collaboration with
and contribution of SAWDC employers such as Georgia Pacific and
Boise, this exciting idea had been transformed into a reality. The
traveling units will target the underemployed, unemployed and
dislocated workers, along with incumbent workers. The Consortium
listened to the needs of the industries in southwest Alabama and
the goal of these mobile training units is to provide the means to
address these needs.
SAWDC Awarded NFWS Grant
The Southwest Alabama Workforce Development Council (SAWDC) has
been awarded a National Fund for Workforce Solutions (NFWS) grant
in the amount of $300,000 over two years. This Social Innovation
Fund (SIF) investment will allow SAWDC to establish and support
four fully functioning workforce partnerships supporting the
following industries: maritime, aerospace, healthcare, and
process manufacturing.
The National Fund for Workforce Solutions is an award-winning
national initiative focused on helping low-wage workers obtain good
careers while at the same time ensuring that employers have the
high-quality skills that will enable them to succeed in this highly
competitive economy
Read more about the National Fund for
Workforce Solutions program.
