The Huntsville Regional Economic Growth Initiative (HREGI ...

Chamber Workshops Provide Tools to Area Workforce
Matching job seekers with employment opportunities is the Chamber’s goal
The Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison
County hosted a series
of workshops over the past few months
designed to help local job seekers who are
experiencing the challenges of a career in
transition get the tools they need to make a
smooth career move.
The workshops covered diverse topics
such as financial planning, how to find federal
employment – including opportunities
with the Missile Defense Agency – and how
to deal with change.
With recent layoffs by NASA and the Base
Realignment and Closure workforce transition
entering its final phase, the Chamber’s
workforce recruitment efforts not only emphasized
recruiting new workers to the area,
but also in retaining the incumbent educated
and trained workforce.
“With Huntsville/Madison County having
the highest concentration of engineers
in the country and the parallel need of a
highly skilled knowledge-based workforce
to fill current industry requirements, it is very
important that we retain the talent that lives
here today in our community,” said Jeremiah
Knight, the Chamber’s vice chair of workforce.
According to Lucia Cape, Chamber workforce
vice president, the workshops were
developed as a way to help local companies
provide support and resources to employees
affected by the downturn in the economy
and also to assist trailing spouses and family
members who moved to the community as a
result of the BRAC decision.
“We get a lot of questions from both local and
potential residents about how to find a job in
Huntsville,” said Cape. “As a result, we designed
these workshops to make it easy for them to find
their way through the maze of opportunity.”
During the workshops, the Chamber highlighted
its recruitment site www.asmartplace.
com to attendees. Funded by a grant from the
State of Alabama, the site is designed to connect
jobseekers to employers throughout the
Tennessee Valley region. The site enables job
seekers to search and apply for jobs within
a 90-mile radius of Redstone Arsenal based
on specific search criteria the user inputs. In
addition, registered users can upload their resume
into a database that area employers can
use to search for available workers.
“We have received very positive feedback
from both jobseekers and employers who
have attended the workshops,” said Cape.
The Chamber will be hosting additional
workshops that are relevant to supporting the
region’s workforce and employers in 2011.
• Staff Reports
For more information on the Chamber’s workforce activities visit
www.huntsvillealabamausa.com/workforce/workforce.html
16 December 2010 Initiatives