Workforce Development Division
Steve Walkley
Division Chief
Building a Better Workforce in Alabama
Welcome to ADECA's Workforce Development Division. Alabama is at a pivotal point in time where workforce development is critical to the success and continued growth of our citizens and our businesses. Job skills, education, and training are the tools individuals need to obtain a job and enjoy the quality of life they desire.
Workforce development is preparing individuals with the occupational skills necessary for work; it is recruiting, placing, mentoring, and counseling potential employees; and it is combining education, employment, and job training efforts.
Alabama's workforce development system is working to manage persistent labor shortages, increase the business community's satisfaction with education and training, ensure that workforce development is equivalent to economic development, and integrate special populations into the economic mainstream.
Latest News
Tornado Disaster National Emergency Grant
Alabama residents who lost their jobs because of the devastating April 27 tornadoes will be eligible for new employment helping their communities recover. Gov. Robert Bentley announced a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor that will be used to hire temporary workers to help local governments in the hardest hit areas. The workers will clear debris and start the rebuilding process and also may staff shelters and food banks.
"The April 27 tornadoes left a path of devastation that not only included lives and properties, but also jobs," Bentley said. "This grant will give both communities and unemployed workers a much-needed helping hand."
County and municipal governments will work with Alabama Career Centers in their areas to find applicants who are eligible for the temporary jobs. First priority for employment will be given to workers whose employers are closed because of the tornadoes. The workers will assist with the demolition, repair, renovation, and reconstruction of destroyed public facilities within the affected communities. Counties targeted for assistance in hiring temporary workers include Bibb, Calhoun, Cullman, DeKalb, Elmore, Fayette, Franklin, Hale, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Marshall, St. Clair, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, and Walker. Additional counties may be included at a later date. Municipal and county governments should contact ADECA at (334) 242-5886 to request funding for the temporary worker program.
Workforce Development Division of ADECA applied for and received funding for the disaster relief through a National Emergency Grant from the US Department of Labor. The funding was approved on May 4, 2011 and our staff have begun working on contracts with county and municipal governments.
To assist or to seek assistance see www.servealabama.gov.
Workforce Investment Act
The U.S. Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in 1998 to create a customer-focused approach to investing in workforce activities. Under WIA, the Workforce Development Division works with the Alabama Workforce Investment Board and Local Workforce Investment Boards to implement employment, training, and career development programs. The Governor appoints the state workforce board members to help oversee the statewide workforce investment system, including Alabama's One-Stop Career Centers. The One-Stop Career Centers provide employment assistance, adult education and job training, and other services for adults, youth, dislocated workers, and special populations.
The state and local workforce boards develop and administer activities in local workforce investment areas. Working together, board members promote workforce development partnerships with local governments, schools, community colleges, businesses, local chambers of commerce, family service centers, non-profit organizations and others.
Alabama Workforce Investment Area (AWIA)
65 county local area, includes all counties except Jefferson and Mobile.
Jefferson County Workforce Investment Area
The Jefferson County Workforce Investment Area (JCWIA) Office provides planning, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation services to participating organizations. The JCWIA office works to create and operate a premier workforce development system that fosters economic development by linking employers and job seekers with providers of education and training; educating and training a marketable workforce; and serving as the resource for information and services to meet the needs of Jefferson County's workforce and employers.
Mobile County Workforce Investment Area
Mobile Works - finding quality people for quality jobs.
In order for businesses to grow and compete in the local and global economy, they must have skilled, experienced workers. New and evolving business models reaffirm that education, job training, and career development are the cornerstones of economic security for Mobile County's workers. That's where we come in.
We are Mobile Works and we're dedicated to building a world-class workforce with solutions that create a stronger economy, so that all Mobilians have the opportunity to share in the prosperity of Mobile. We invite you to learn more about us and our programs.
Alabama's Career Center System
Alabama's network of One-Stop Centers and satellites are strategically located throughout the state. Job development, occupational and educational training, vocational rehabilitation, veterans' services, and unemployment insurance information are offered. Employers work with local centers to locate employees with specific skills and the goal is to consolidate the delivery of services at a single location. Many centers are electronically linked with partner agencies, such as the Alabama Departments of Industrial Relations, Human Resources, Rehabilitation Services, and Education, two-year colleges, and others.
Incumbent Worker Program
In a constantly changing marketplace that requires new technology and demands new skills, the Incumbent Worker Program helps workers upgrade and acquire new skills so that employers can meet foreign competition, avoid layoffs and stay open.
Rapid Response Team
The Workforce Development Division provides on-site assistance to workers when plants announce layoffs. Once ADECA receives notice of plant closings or substantial layoffs, the Rapid Response Team swiftly reacts and meets on-site with employers and employees affected by job loss. At the employee group meetings, workers receive information about unemployment compensation, pension benefits, job training, employment services, health insurance, credit counseling, and many other services.
Youth Programs
WIA funds also provide services including programs for out-of-school youth that lack basic skills and are unemployed or underemployed and assistance for those with disabilities.
Toll-Free Jobs Help Line
1-877-US2-JOBS - Thousands of Alabamians call our toll-free help line which helps students, parents, workforce professionals, the unemployed, and underemployed make informed career decisions. Callers request state labor market data, information on career, educational and training options, financial assistance, apprenticeships, unemployment insurance, and employment in the airport security and healthcare fields.