ASmartPlace Update
Addressing Childcare Challenges
Things are taking off for ASmartPlace this year, and we have already scheduled several virtual ASmartPlace on the Road recruiting events over the next few months. We will be hosting a virtual recruiting event with the Institute for Veterans and Military Families on February 24th. If you want to hire veterans or their spouses, this would be a perfect opportunity for you. We are also hosting a virtual recruiting event with our local colleges and universities on February 23. We will be partnering with Oakwood University, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Calhoun Community College, Drake State Community and Technical College, Athens State University, and Alabama A&M University. These events are free to Chamber member companies and free to job seekers. These are great ways to promote your company and fill your jobs with college students and veterans. Make sure you follow @ASmartPlace on our social media pages to stay up to date on all of our virtual recruiting events. We are also starting a new video series called ASmartMove to ASmartPlace. In this video series, we will speak with people who relocated to Huntsville for an exciting career opportunity. We will be asking them about the overall transition process, what surprised them about the Huntsville region, what is one of their favorite things about our community, what is their favorite thing to do, and much more. If there is someone at your company who would be a great fit, please reach out to Katelyn Sides Baker at kbaker@hsvchamber.org.
In the fall of 2019, the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber and our regional economic development partners hired Deloitte to conduct a Labor Market Analysis for the North Alabama Region. The conclusion, after nearly 100 interviews with employers, was that the region would need to fill 25,000 jobs by 2023. COVID did not slow our economy significantly, so we are still working toward that workforce recruitment and development goal. One of the recommendations raised in the study was to eliminate obstacles to employment, such as access to affordable childcare, particularly for parents working non-traditional hours. Just weeks after the Deloitte study was released, the Chamber partnered with the Alabama Partnership for Children to host a Childcare Summit. More than 100 people representing employers, childcare providers, and community organizations participated. We reviewed the lack of access in our region – almost 50 percent more demand than supply – and the potentially negative impact our growing economy could have on that access. Following the Summit, the Chamber organized a Childcare Taskforce to identify best practices and recommend solutions for the Huntsville Metro. Our work was redirected in March when COVID caused most childcare centers to close or reduce their capacity for safety reasons. We shifted to supporting parents with remote learning supervision for their school-age children when schools opened virtually. We also participated in a Shark Tank process to share our concept of Smart Space, a childcare and workforce training center that would increase local capacity by 300 spots. In January, the Chamber hired a contractor to lead the final activities of the taskforce. Scheduled for completion in April, the result will provide information and resources to help employers implement policies and programs that support their workers with young children while enabling parents to find quality, affordable childcare. Look for the final report in May. For more information, please contact Lucia Cape at lcape@hsvchamber.org.
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A HUNTSVILLE/MADISON COUNTY CHAMBER PUBLICATION
feb 2021 initiatives
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