Innovate Birmingham prepares students for tech jobs
The 28 graduates of an Innovate Birmingham program are “the full definition of getting it right” according to Birmingham’s mayor and “how workforce development is supposed to work” according to an Alabama Power executive. The graduates were feted at a commencement ceremony at Alabama Power corporate headquarters on April 13 where UAB President Ray Watts presented them with their certificates. Each quarter, the Innovate Birmingham Development Program prepares students for careers in Birmingham’s growing tech sector through training via the I AM BHAM coding bootcamp and Generation IT bootcamp. Friday’s class was the fourth graduating class in the program. Innovate Birmingham holds graduation for tech students from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo. I AM BHAM, a 14-week program, offers short-term, fast-track, intensive training for full stack and front-end web development. The 12-week Generation IT program offers an IT specialist training program for students to receive their CompTIA A+ certification. Both programs, held onsite at Innovation Depot in Birmingham, allow students to interact daily with potential employers. More than 25 employers – including corporations such as Alabama Power, BBVA Compass, Regions Financial and Protective Life – support the program and offer graduates jobs. John Hudson, senior vice president of Marketing and Business Development at Alabama Power, said a program that can take someone who was unemployed, train them in a new skill and promise them a job upon graduation “is how workforce development is supposed to work.” “All of us who work on economic development in Birmingham are trying to move this community and this city toward a more technology-based economy,” Hudson said. “If we’re going to do that, workforce is going to continue to be prominent in us getting there.” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said the Magic City’s economy is hitched to growing the technology industry. “As we look at what our strengths are and what our strengths can be, IT technology and innovation is something we need to triple down on and have a full investment in,” Woodfin said. He said economic development is ultimately an investment in people and the Innovate Birmingham program epitomizes that idea. “This is a full definition of getting it right,” Woodfin said. Watts said the program is an extension of UAB’s mission. “As we looked at the needs in Birmingham, we realized there was a subset of our young people who have not had the opportunity yet to be in the right place at the right time to develop those educational skills,” he said. The program was made possible, in large part, by a $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. Josh Carpenter, director of the Birmingham Office of Economic Development, was instrumental in constructing the partnership that pursued that grant when he was at UAB. He was at the commencement. “Sustaining the economy through a qualified and diverse workforce is absolutely fundamental to our success in creating the innovation of the future,” Carpenter said. “This is laying a pipeline for us to be able to showcase around the country that we have a best-in-class program that can train people and equip them with the skills they need to succeed very quickly in a workforce that demands more nimble and qualified talent.” Watts said he was doing more than handing graduates their certifications: He was handing them a better Birmingham. “It’s a great opportunity to give our young people skills and knowledge that will allow them to get a really good job and provide for their families, and help their neighborhoods and the entire city be successful,” Watts said. Republished with the permission of Alabama Newscenter.
Steve Flowers: Dark horses emerge to follow legacy of ‘Luv Gov’
Well, folks, let’s put the final coup de grace to the Robert Bentley six-year Governor’s reign and move on. Ole Bentley was quite a story his last two years. He had become the ringleader of a circus and an infamous national cartoon character. The salacious and lurid details of his affair with Mrs. Rebekah Mason were a never-ending, titillating saga. The story, along with his picture, could aptly be a plot for a tabloid or a Soap Opera. I will actually be surprised if it does not make it to television or even the movies. Unfortunately, this story will be his legacy as governor. He has no public policy initiatives to tout for posterity. He will be known as the “Luv Gov.” Our last two governors may not have gone to jail like previous ones, but they garnered terrific nicknames for their exploits over their last year in office. Bob Riley spent his last year doing the bidding of the Indian Gambling syndicate and his cowboy and Indian escapades closing down all the non-Indian casinos earned him the nickname of “Bingo Bob.” Ole Bentley, who appeared to be the least likely person to play the part, became a sex-crazed philanderer. His and Rebekah’s sordid romance tapes sounded like the x-rated version of Barney Fife sweet talking Thelma Lou. Even the national media dubbed him the “Luv Gov.” Bentley never really showed any genuine remorse or contrition. Even when he read his prepared resignation speech, it did not seem heartfelt or sincere. They were just words wrapped in religion. He never seemed to apologize from the heart. He still seemed a little bit haughty. Having taught Sunday school for many years, one would have thought Bentley had taught some from the book of Proverbs. One of Solomon’s greatest proverbs says, “Pride goeth before a fall.” Early in the day of Bentley’s resignation, I was walking around the Capitol with rumors swirling that Bentley’s demise was imminent at any time. I was wishing the best for ole Bentley. I thought about ole Big Jim Folsom standing on the Capitol steps when the press would pound on him and ask him to resign. He would say to them, “Y’all ain’t gonna get old Big Jim to quit. When I was a boy, growing up in Coffee County my old pappy would make me get out of bed before daylight and go work in the fields chopping cotton and plowing behind a mule. I’d see a rain cloud come up and start praying for rain so I could quit for a while. My pappy would say, boy, it may cloud up but it ain’t gonna rain on Big Jim.” Well, bless his heart, it did rain on Bentley. He’s gone. Kay Ivey will serve out the remaining 19 months of his term. She may decide to run for a full term of her own as governor. As the incumbent governor, she would be a viable candidate. There is an ever-growing list of potential and probable horses that are gearing up for the 2018 gubernatorial derby. The list of viable candidates is at about a dozen. However, let me tell you again, like I have been telling you for years, Alabamians like to vote for a dark horse for governor – one who has not been around the political track. Let me give you the names of two very rich businessmen who could pull off a Fob James 1978-like coup. Jimmy Rane, known as “Yella Fella” from his ads of riding a horse and wearing a big yellow hat advertising his yellow lumber, started out and built Great Southern Wood out of Abbeville where he was born and raised and still calls home. Forbes magazine has his net worth at $600 million. Johnny Johns became CEO of Birmingham-based Protective Life at a young age. He built the company started by Colonel Rushton into one of the largest life insurance companies in the world. When an international corporation bought Protective several years ago, Johnny walked away with $300 million. He is known throughout Birmingham as one of the most civic-minded people in the Magic City. Either one of these two distinguished gentlemen could easily buy the governor’s office with their pocket change and they may be interested. See you next week. ___ Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state Legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
