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Alabama

Alabama's most recent efforts have been focused on education reform -- not only at the K-12 level, but within the two-year college system and senior colleges as well. Lawmakers recently considered a bill to require more local support for the public school systems, and a college scholarship program is under consideration that will be available to all high school students meeting grade requirements in core subjects.

Aside from its strides in education reform, the state's greatest work-force development strength is the Alabama Industrial Development Training (AIDT) program. The AIDT has trained more than 140,000 workers in a plethora of industries. "AIDT is completely state-funded to the tune of about US$6 million per year, and as the need arises, additional money is appropriated for certain projects such as Mercedes-Benz, Boeing and Honda," says Ed Castile, director of AIDT. "In those particular cases vast numbers of people needed to be recruited and trained for jobs. Those particular projects needed and were provided extra services such as dedicated training centers built to meet their specific needs."

And the AIDT is undergoing some reform as well. "We continue to build on two relatively new efforts that address work-force development and training," Castile says. "We are helping to build a network of alliances among industry and training resources in various communities, and our role is to help organize and support meetings. The second effort is called the Alabama Training Exchange (ATX), which is designed to help trainers identify resources and share experiences with others in similar circumstances. The ATX provides a one-stop shop for questions about what training resources are available throughout the state or locally."

Although low unemployment rates have put a kink in the AIDT's progress, it hasn't stopped the group from providing qualified workers for the new jobs that continue to flood the marketplace. For example, AIDT recently began work on a $10 million, 50,000-sq.-ft. (4,645-sq.-m.) Honda training center just across the street from the automaker's new $400 million vehicle and engine plant in Lincoln. The state will provide training in fields such as metal stamping, spot welding and paint spraying.

Jeffrey A. Smith, senior manager for corporate affairs and communications for American Honda, told Site Selection in the January 2000 issue that Alabama's work force was key to its decision to locate the new plant in Lincoln. "The most important factor of our decision was the people of Alabama," he explains. "We believe that good people make great cars, and we are impressed with the people of Alabama and their work ethic."

Alabama's training expertise in automotive manufacturing will help other major employers moving into the state as well. In Huntsville, Navistar is investing $250 million for a new engine plant, and Teksid, a subsidiary of Italian automaker Fiat, is investing $80 million in a new aluminum engine castings plant in Sylacauga.