Alabama Governor Kay Ivey on Wednesday joined Airbus executives, local leaders from the Mobile area and industry and educational partners in breaking ground for the coming hands-on instructional facility “Flight Works Alabama.”
In May of last year, Ivey announced plans to build the revolutionary center, with a goal to bolster the state’s workforce development efforts and inspire young Alabamians to pursue careers in aerospace. Now, construction of the facility has officially launched, with the facility due to open in late 2019.
“Aerospace is a premier industry, filled with innovative developments and high demand jobs, which are sought after by every state,” Ivey said in a press release. “Flight Works Alabama will become a hub to explore the opportunities of this industry.”
“As our state continues to grow this sector, we must show Alabamians all that the aerospace industry can offer them, today and in the years ahead,” she added.
Airbus stressed Alabama’s workforce development efforts as key to continuing success and growth.
“Success for Airbus, and any company, means we can’t just look at what we’re doing now; we need to look at what we need later—whether it be next year, next decade, or the next five decades,” Airbus Americas Chairman and CEO Jeff Knittel remarked during the ceremony.
He added, “What Airbus and other companies in our industry need to be successful in the future is a skilled, knowledgeable workforce that is ready for that future. Flight Works will help us create that workforce in a fun, creative way.”
Earlier this year, Ivey launched Success Plus – a new strategic workforce development initiative that ambitiously targets the addition of 500,000 high-skilled employees to Alabama’s workforce by 2025 – in response to increasing employer demands for the higher levels of talent needed in modern workplaces.
more…[Yellowhammer News]