Workforce Happenings

Tuscaloosa, AL- West Alabama employers looking for students to fill their open positions now have a centralized location to do so, and it’s all online. The Tuscaloosa County Commission and West AlabamaWorks! have partnered to launch a student employment jobs portal called ‘I.G.N.I.T.E Student Jobs’. Employers will be able to make sure they have the ‘manpower’ to handle their workforce needs by utilizing and employing the skill sets of students ages 14-18.

“We believe it’s going to create new opportunities: one for students to get out and find work, or internships, or co-ops opportunities in the workforce, but also our employers to get young and energetic employees,” said Probate Judge and Chairman of the Tuscaloosa County Commission, Rob Robertson. “I think they need that, and we’ve missed some of these opportunities over the last year or two due to the pandemic. So, we are looking forward to a very positive launch and see where this thing goes. We think it’s innovative. We were not able to find a whole lot of other examples like this around the nation. I think it is going to be another interesting and productive innovation from Tuscaloosa County,” said Robertson.

The vision for the portal is for every student employment position on this site to be a high-impact and transformative work-integrated learning experience that prepares students for meaningful, passionate, and productive careers.

“We’re very excited about I.G.N.I.T.E. Student Jobs opportunities and what it is going to mean to our students here in West Alabama. Particularly, we are launching the pilot in Tuscaloosa County, so our students are going to be able to get great jobs during the summer,” said West AlabamaWorks! Executive Director and Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama COO, Donny Jones. “It’s going to connect our students with employers and those opportunities during the summer to go full-time or part-time and then also to do co-ops during the school year. We are really excited about the opportunity to take our world-class Career Connect system and implement it with our students and our schools,” said Jones.

I.G.N.I.T.E. represents a set of character qualities that students have in the workplace that make individuals good at their job. The character traits, “Having Integrity, expressing Gratitude, to Never give up, showcasing Initiative, keeping the habit of Timeliness, and having Enthusiasm on the job”, (see attached image for further detail) can be applied in life as students’ progress into adulthood.

Employers can submit their open student positions at: Student Portal Company Participation.

Visit: WAWStudentJobs.com for more information. The portal is available on the Tuscaloosa County website at www.Tuscco.com and West AlabamaWorks! at www.westalabamaworks.com or by visiting WAWStudentJobs.com.