58 INC., Shelby County’s economic development organization, and the Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce (GSCCC), hosted a “Signing Day” event to highlight the County’s newest workforce development initiative – a U.S. Department of Labor Machine Tool Technology Registered Apprenticeship Program in partnership with Lawson State Community College and a consortium of local employers. This is a direct response to the expressed needs of local employers for the highly skilled trade as well as a commitment made by the leadership of 58 INC. and the GSCCC through the Shelby One-Next Level Up campaign to identify and meet local employer needs through partnered initiatives. While the first cohort of apprentices is a small pilot class, the desire of the partners is to create a pipeline of skilled labor to feed the projected demand and workforce gaps anticipated due to an aging workforce and a stagnant emphasis on trades at the K-12 level. Further, the partnership hopes that this is the first of many initiatives to directly address workforce needs for local employers.
