The Alabama Community College System on Wednesday approved up to $10 million in Industry Certification Initiative Fund allocations for 2026-2027.
Barry May, vice chancellor of Workforce Operations, said the investments will continue to address workforce demands, strengthen colleges’ ability to prepare students for in-demand careers and help more Alabamians secure employment.
“Collectively, these investments are designed to accomplish three things. First, we want to respond directly to the workforce needs of Alabama employers. Second, we want to expand the capacities of our colleges to prepare students for high-demand careers, and third, we want to help Alabamians enter and complete education and training that leads to employment,” May said.
Among the allocations is $1 million for the Existing Industry Training Program, which allows community colleges to provide training for current employees as businesses adopt new technologies, processes and skill requirements.
The program supported 96 grants serving 73 Alabama businesses last year. May said the investments have helped manufacturers provide safety and emergency response training, earn industry certifications, improve production and quality processes and prepare employees to take on new technologies and responsibilities.
“These are relatively small and targeted investments that can have a significant impact on these businesses and the growth that they have the potential of,” May said.
The system also approved $150,000 for SkillsUSA scholarships. The scholarships provide up to $2,000 to Alabama SkillsUSA competition winners who continue their technical education at an Alabama community college. Last year, 201 students received the scholarships.
Another $1 million will go toward responsive workforce grants, which allow colleges to address workforce needs that arise outside the system’s normal grant cycle.
The program provided 11 awards totaling approximately $917,000 last year. Those grants supported robotics and automation training for expanding automotive manufacturers, FAME programs, welding capacity in Mobile, health care, hospitality, wastewater operations and collision repair training.
May said the program allows colleges to quickly provide the training capacity, equipment or infrastructure needed to address specific workforce needs in their regions.
The remaining $7.45 million will go toward targeted workforce investments across community colleges.
Those investments include equipment and additional training capacity for high-demand programs such as advanced manufacturing, electronics, industrial automation, welding, aviation, commercial driver’s license training, health care, machine tool technology and electrical systems.
The funding will also continue the system’s success coach and career coordinator initiatives. Success coaches help underserved students enter college and persist through their programs, while career coordinators provide personalized career guidance and connect students with employment opportunities.
Together, those student support initiatives served nearly 12,000 students during the past year, according to May.
May said the individual programs are designed to support the broader goal of connecting Alabama residents with skills and training while giving employers access to the workforce they need to grow.
“While each of these individual programs are different, they’re all supporting the same larger objective: connecting Alabamians to the skills and opportunities they need while providing Alabama employers with a workforce they need to succeed,” May said.
