Alliance formed to reinforce construction industry in Alabama

In an attempt to address the ongoing issue of finding skilled labor in Alabama, several agencies, nonprofits, and institutions across the state have agreed to come together in a collaborative effort in order to train perspective employees who will be credentialed and certified for employment in the construction industry, reports WTVY.com.

In a press release on Dec. 2, AlabamaWorks! announced a collaboration for the initiative and said the formation is known as the Alabama Construction Workforce Alliance (ACWA). Currently, it consists of the Alabama Associated General Contractors, the Alabama Roadbuilders Association, the Alabama Workforce Council, the Alabama Construction Research Institute and Auburn University.

According to the release, these groups have committed to partnering together, with state education and workforce agencies, to guide ACWA’s mission and the vision for the streamlined construction workforce.

Alabama Workforce Council Chairman Tim McCartney, formerly of McCartney Construction, said the alliance aligns perfectly with Gov. Kay Ivey’s attainment goal of adding 500,000 credentialed workers to the workforce by 2025, and the state’s overall workforce development credentialing pipeline efforts.

“ACWA was developed as a response to concerns by the Alabama construction industry about the serious shortage of skilled labor and the need for improvements to the current construction workforce talent pipeline,” said Jorge Rueda, assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Auburn University and the person leading ACWA implementation efforts.

The proposed alliance is based on the fact that greater benefits are made available whenever workforce development initiatives are implemented as a combined, coordinated effort by government, industry and education entities, Rueda said.