Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Workforce Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
HOPE Foundation asks council for help connecting construction-skills program with employers and transportation
Summary
Joseph Holt of the HOPE Foundation presented the group's plan to teach local young people construction trades and asked the council to help secure meeting access with the mayor and connections to employers and transit; council members and staff offered referrals and workforce-development contacts.
Joseph Holt, founder of the HOPE Foundation, spoke to the City Council Feb. 4 about a hands-on construction-training program he operates for teenagers and young adults and asked for city help connecting participants to local employers and transportation.
Holt said his program provides basic construction trade training and site visits to employer partners such as Brasfield & Gorrie and Alvin Powell, and that many local young men who do not pursue college need pathways to good-paying construction jobs. He requested council assistance to secure a meeting with the mayor and help identifying a surplus city bus or transportation resources so students can travel to training and employer visits.
Council members and staff offered immediate connections. Councilor Smitherman asked whether HOPE is a registered 501(c)(3); Holt said yes and that he has grant applications in process and a donation/organization webpage with contact information. Council members connected Holt to workforce development resources including Lawson State Community College lineman classes, Strive Birmingham, and other transit and job training partners. Councilor Clark suggested the Alabama Craft Training Institute and noted employers often face practical hiring barriers such as drug-test failure among applicants.
Councilors said they would help set meetings with employers and local training providers and connect Holt with the mayor's office and the Birmingham Water Works Board representative in the audience. Several council members emphasized transportation and childcare as common obstacles to program participation and offered to assist in sourcing passes or bus access while longer-term solutions are pursued.
Holt said he was not seeking city money at the meeting, only influence and connections. Council members indicated willingness to follow up with the mayor's office and community-partnership staff.
