(The Center Square) – Alabama is well on its way to adding more than half a million workers to the economy who have postsecondary education.
Republican Gov. Kay Ivey says the state has added 214,922 credentialed workers to the workforce under the Success Plan since the effort was launched in 2018, according to the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness.
“Here in Alabama, we are laser-focused on bringing good-paying jobs to the state, and very importantly, we want to ensure we are providing opportunities for Alabamians to be the most equipped for those jobs,” Ivey said in the release. “I am proud of our progress and predict we are well on our way to surpassing the goal of adding 500,000 additional credentialed individuals to our workforce by 2025.”
The program’s success, according to the release, is measured through a collaborative effort among AlabamaWorks!, the Alabama Workforce Council, and Credential Engine and the CREC.
“I am extremely proud of the work the Alabama Workforce Council has done in advancing Governor Ivey’s Success Plus initiative and helping Alabamians earn post-secondary credentials that will set them up for success,” Alabama Workforce Council Chairman Tim McCartney said in the release. “It is evident we have more work to do to carry this goal to completion, but we are on the right path and have the right leadership with Governor Ivey at the helm.”
Since 2018, Alabama has enshrined 137,848 newly credentialed employees into the workforce in the age 16 to 24 age group and an additional 38,240 employees in the 25 to 64 age group, according to the release.
“Alabama’s current and future economic growth depends on a highly skilled workforce. That’s why I am so proud of the progress we are making in increasing our postsecondary education attainment goal,” said Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield. “We are on track to meet our goal, which will result in more Alabamians in the workforce.”
According to the release, of the newly credentialed employees 145,194 attained their first degree from a public or private schools, 33,059 were first certificates from a public or private school, and 1,430 more attained a license as their first credential. Plus, 34,552 attained a certification while 668 completed an apprenticeship.
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