Southeast Alabama Works aims to help area businesses

"Any challenge that any business sector faces, we're there to help provide solutions."

According to Director of Workforce Development Ryan Richards, this is the goal of Southeast Alabama Works, a nonprofit organization that works to provide the future workforce for Alabama's business and industry sectors.

The organization began in 2009 and became a state-codified organization in October 2016, according to Richards.

"The state had a lot of good things going on, but the problem was, they were all in their different silos," Richards said. "They never really communicated. What we are is that bridge. We're kind of that connection piece that helps all of those different levels and all of those different groups talk together.

"We go around and try to provide some sort of resources via any training provider and get them connected. We bring teams around and we sit down in the same room with different businesses and we talk about (ways to help)."

Richards serves as the Region 6 director of workforce development for the organization, which includes Coffee, Dale, Houston Covington, Geneva, Henry, Barbour, Crenshaw, Butler and Pike Counties. There are seven regions throughout the state.

Southeast Alabama Works helps "to provide a skilled and qualified workforce" for state businesses in many ways, Richards said.

"The career system is one avenue, the community colleges are one avenue and the K-12 system is one avenue," he said. "We funnel all those in at the same time."

It works with agencies such as the Alabama Career Center System, which can provide training and technical education opportunities for job seekers, he said.

It also works closely with Career Tech Centers at high schools and community colleges.

"We try to talk with businesses to say, 'what are your needs? What are the skill sets that you need people to graduate high school or community college with?'" he said.

The organization will then go to the schools and suggest which programs to develop or which curriculum might be the best to use to develop those skills in students.

The organization also works with middle school students to spark interest in careers they may never have thought about before.

"Our organization sponsors a program, and we're changing the name of it," Richards said. "The new name is Southeast Worlds of Work."

The program was formerly known as Wiregrass Works, which is held at the Peanut Festival Fairgrounds in Dothan.

"It is a hands-on career experience for eighth graders," he said. "Some of the challenges our young people have is they're not exposed to different career options that are available to them right here in their own backyard. What our hope is is when they come in and they get a hands-on experience in an industry, that may turn that light bulb on, and when they leave eighth grade and go to high school the next year, those career tech programs are right there ready for them to join in.

"That's what we're trying to, hoping to create that enthusiasm for something they may not have heard of."

At Southeast Worlds of Work, students are exposed to the transportation industry, the utility industry, public safety and service, and more.

"It's showing them that there are available careers that they may not have thought of," he said. "If we don't spark the interest early, then we're never going to have a workforce for the future."

"One part of our organization is we are also a grant provider," Richards said. "We don't hold the funding, but we are basically the agent. We send out a request for (community colleges) to provide some sort of training for major needs in our region, whether its healthcare, whether its aviation, whether its transportation, anything like that."

He said the community colleges would then send the Southeast Alabama Works their applications, which are ranked by the organization before being sent to the state. This happens in each region.

"They allow us the ability to set up programs that fit our needs and fund some of those grant proposals," he said.

Here in the Wiregrass, the organization works with the Wiregrass Center of Excellence, located at Enterprise State Community College. The WCOE was originally known as the Wiregrass Information Technology Center of Excellence.

The WCOE is a collaboration of three community colleges and five high schools, providing career tech courses for students in the area.

Richards said he has also spoken with school officials throughout Dale County and hopes to meet with every superintendent in Region 6.

Businesses can also contact the organization to request assistance from the organization.

Richards said he hopes to speak with as many businesses in the area as possible to help them address any needs they have. He said he also likes to connect these businesses with resources and contacts that can help them fill that need.

"We don't know unless they tell us, and we don't know how to help and provide solutions without their expertise in the room," he said. "We're not the experts. We don't claim to be. They're the experts; they're our bosses. We're going to try to get as many of these businesses in the same room in the same time to discuss what their challenges are."

Richards said he wants to speak with local civic groups and chambers of commerce to share how the organization can help local businesses.

"Any time that I can get in front of a business, whether it be singular or multiple, we want to try to discuss what we can do to help provide solutions to any challenges or issues that they face," he said.

For more information about Southeast Alabama Works, contact Richards at (334) 714-4250 or email him as [email protected].

Information can also be found at the organization's website, www.southeastalabamaworks.com