WHAT KEEPS ENERGY INVESTMENT FROM BECOMING LOCAL CAREERS

Lessons from our completed workforce strategy for Birmingham

Communities preparing for energy investment need to know where their workforce system is losing people. A shortage of skilled workers tells leaders that something needs attention. It does not tell them what to fund.

In Birmingham, one college partner described 120 applicants competing for 20 training seats. Interest was there. Qualified instructors were in short supply. Employers, meanwhile, wanted experienced electricians, while training programs were preparing people to enter the trade. Young people still in high school faced another problem: many accessible apprenticeships would not take them until they were 18 or 19.

These findings shaped Building Birmingham’s Energy and Grid Workforce, the strategy CivicSol recently completed with the City’s Division of Workforce and Talent Development. With roughly $2.1 billion in energy and grid investment projected to reach the region before 2030, we examined occupational demand and training capacity, then tested the findings with employers, educators, and community organizations. The work offers four lessons for communities trying to turn investment into careers for their residents.

FUND THE CAPACITY THAT IS MISSING

Birmingham’s instructor shortage changes the investment decision. A program with applicants waiting for seats needs people qualified to teach them. Educators described the difficulty of recruiting instructors at salaries that compete with industry wages. Expanding recruitment without addressing that constraint would leave more residents waiting.

Local experience offered a practical response. A retired Alabama Power crew foreman had been teaching at Lawson State for years. Our recommendations include recruiting experienced retirees and arranging shared appointments so working tradespeople can teach part time. Instructor recruitment becomes an explicit part of the workforce strategy, with someone responsible for carrying it forward.

Other communities should trace the same path through their programs before committing funds. Count qualified applicants turned away, alongside enrollments and completions. Find out whether additional instructors, equipment, or supervised work placements would allow more people to advance. That is a more useful basis for a budget than a general call to expand training.

SECURE EMPLOYER COMMITMENTS BEFORE THE HIRING PEAK

Training for an experienced workforce has to begin years before employers need one. Birmingham’s trainers described employers seeking qualified electricians without necessarily planning for the entry-level workers they would need to hire and develop along the way.

That finding made employer commitments central to our recommendations. Before recruiting a cohort, partners need to establish which employers can offer paid work and the supervision that helps apprentices progress. The forecast points to electrical trades as the first priority, but project schedules and employers’ capacity to train should guide how quickly the program grows.

The existing Alabama Power–Lawson State partnership illustrates why those commitments must extend beyond a single company. As the program grew beyond what Alabama Power could absorb, it added placement partners in steel, utility contracting, and line construction. Communities planning around a major investment should bring those smaller employers into the work early. They broaden the opportunities available to graduates and reduce dependence on one company’s hiring schedule.

BUILD A CONTINUOUS PATH FROM SCHOOL INTO A TRADE

A young person can be interested, taking relevant classes, and still have no clear next step. Birmingham City Schools described that gap for 16- and 17-year-olds in career and technical education who were too young for many accessible registered apprenticeships.

The strategy recommends paid pre-apprenticeship to bridge those years, connected to registered programs and employer sponsors. Transportation, mentorship, and stipends are part of the proposed design because students need to be able to participate consistently. Workplace preparation also matters, including knowing how to communicate when a problem threatens attendance.

For public leaders, the lesson is to examine access at each transition. A school program and an apprenticeship may both be strong while the connection between them is weak. Partners should be able to explain what a student does next, when that opportunity becomes available, and who helps them get there. A recruitment campaign makes a promise that the rest of the system needs to be ready to keep.

ASSIGN A LEAD TO COORDINATE TRAINING AND HIRING

Workforce partnerships need a lead organization responsible for connecting training to employment. In Birmingham, our strategy assigns that role to the City’s Division of Workforce and Talent Development. The Division would convene employers, training providers, and community organizations to agree on priorities and resolve gaps between their programs.

The first decisions are specific: which employers will host apprentices, which training partners can prepare them, and what additional instructors and support services are needed before a paid pre-apprenticeship cohort begins. The City would coordinate these commitments through the sector partnership, with employers responsible for paid work and supervision, training providers for instruction, and community organizations for participant support.

Other communities should name the lead organization and commit staff time to this work from the outset. Partners should review completion, job placement, and wages together, including which neighborhoods participants come from. Those results should guide decisions about where to expand training or address barriers that keep residents from finishing.

The strategy is complete; implementation is the next task. For Birmingham, that means turning the findings into commitments about who will teach, who will hire, and how young residents will reach those opportunities. For other communities, the lesson begins with the next workforce investment decision: identify the specific barrier it will remove and the people who will be able to advance as a result.