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Many of the state’s primary workforce development programs were consolidated in a new division within the Alabama Department of Commerce in late 2015 to streamline delivery of workforce services to businesses by providing a single point of entry.

AIDT, the state’s highly regarded job-training program, is the centerpiece of Commerce’s new Workforce Development Division. AIDT offers comprehensive pre-employment selection and customized training, leadership development, on-the job training, and assessments.

AIDT has been part of Commerce since 2012, and its longtime director, Ed Castile, now heads the department’s expanded Workforce Development Division.

The new division includes:

• Workforce development functions previously carried out by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, including Workforce Investment Boards, the Rapid Response team and the Incumbent Worker Training Program, as well as responsibility for other federal programs and grants.
• The Alabama Workforce Council, a blue-ribbon panel established by Gov. Robert Bentley in 2013, to explore how to improve educational outcomes and strengthen workforce and economic development efforts.
• The state’s 10 Regional Workforce Councils, important resources that provide a direct link to immediate and future workforce needs of business and industry at the local level.