Workforce & Economic Development

The United States Census Bureau's 2000 population estimates place Alabama's urban population at 3,065,673 citizens, comprising over 70 percent of the state's 4,368,862 residents. There are 572,743 families and 792,583 households. The median income in urban counties is $31,569. Seventy percent (70 percent) of the urban population has attained a high school diploma and 18.1 percent has a college degree or higher.

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Urban Affairs And New Nontraditional Program's Workforce & Economic Development Program understands that successful community revitalization results when clearly assessed needs are addressed through community building. Planning and organizing using successful approaches can ultimately bring about community economic development when assets are realized and mobilized. Focusing on the positive, an asset building approach to community revitalization looks at community potential rather than community deficiencies. Both monetary and social assets in local economies are circulated to create magnified economic growth and impact.

Extension programs that address economic development needs of diverse and underserved communities are becoming increasingly important as Alabama's population statistics continue to shift. Communities in urban and suburban environments are seeking economic growth and community revitalization that will promote employment and a secure home environment for their families. Naturally, there is a direct link to sustained economic growth and higher employment. With Alabama's unemployment statistics fluctuating just under the national jobless rate of 6 percent, youth and adults are seeking workforce preparation guidance.

• To deliver multiphased training and programs for education and training of the hard to reach audiences in Alabama in the areas of CRD and Workforce and Economic Development over a four-year period that includes:
  • WECAN4U - A one-stop Web site that provides employment, business, education, legislative, and financial information for Alabama and West Virginia residents.
  • Welcome To The Real World Reporting Form [pdf]
  • Work Force Preparation
  • Job Hunting Kit ­ UNP4
• To identify and respond to critical areas of work force preparation by adapting, developing, and delivering basic employment and job enhancement programs that increase opportunities for advancement for those individuals that are IT WORKS FOR ME *(Centrallo & Lane, 2003)
• Manufactured Home Safety ­ UNP-59

• To initiate survival skills programs to prepare citizens to respond to and function in environments of stress and change.
• To identify and respond to critical areas of work force preparation by adapting, developing, and delivering basic employment and job enhancement programs that increase opportunities for advancement.

The program will be available to urban and rural citizens. Urban citizens are those living within the 10 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) of Alabama, which include the city limits of Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Dothan, Anniston, Gadsden, Decatur, and Florence. Participants living in rural areas will be determined by identified Cable Access Television (CATV) and distance learning centers capabilities.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). Census data 2000.

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Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University).

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