AIDT, Alabama’s workforce development agency celebrated 50 years of connecting and training Alabama citizens with companies looking for a workforce at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery. The celebration featured Governor Kay Ivey as well as representatives from clients across Alabama.
“In 1971 a group of educators and state leaders had a plan for improving workforce development in Alabama,” said Ed Castile, director of AIDT and Deputy Director of Commerce. “Now 50 years later, that vision has exceeded even their wildest ideas. Today truly is a milestone for Alabama and its citizens both private and corporate.”
Since 1971, AIDT has trained approximately 1 million job-seekers for 5,200 companies across the state. In addition to the main office in Montgomery, AIDT operates seven training centers plus several additional satellite locations throughout Alabama. The centers provide training for a wide variety of topics from aviation to robotics. The organization maintains a fleet of mobile training units (MTUs) which bring training classes to even the most remote locations in the state.
AIDT was the first state workforce training organization in the United States to earn international certification for its quality management system in 2005 and has maintained that certification ever since. AIDT’s economic impact in Alabama topped over $7B in the last year alone. Consistently ranked as one of the top workforce development programs in the nation by industry and workforce publications, AIDT continues to stay at the forefront of workforce development through its innovation and willingness to evolve. “Part of the key to our success is that we are constantly looking for ways to improve upon our processes,” said Castile. “AIDT not only delivers what companies need to meet their demands today but continues to innovate and develop ways to deliver what companies will need in the future.”
Created in June of 1971 by an act of the Alabama’s Legislature, AIDT’s primary mission is to provide quality workforce development for Alabama’s new and expanding businesses, and to expand the opportunities of its citizens through the jobs these businesses create. Since merging with the Alabama Department of Commerce in 2012, the organization has increased efficiency in the state’s job creation efforts and further united collaborative efforts with the state’s economic developers and recruiters.
In addition to celebrating 50 years of workforce development, AIDT launched a new branding campaign and logo that more fully connects the key components of the AIDT process. The modernized branding features a vibrant color palette as well as a new logo that nods to AIDT’s history of connecting citizens and companies to create workforce. The new branding depicts how AIDT has evolved over the past 50 years, just as workforce needs and solutions have evolved.
