Synopsis
The DRIVE Coalition assembles nearly every heavy hitter and promising upstart in Alabama’s nascent vehicle electrification industry. Our partners come from the public and private sectors, from education and industry, from research and practice — all with the shared mission to revitalize Alabama’s rural economies by providing free and low-cost technical training and creating well-paying jobs. Our nine component projects promise to reach 27 counties in the underserved Wider West Alabama region, including 23 persistent poverty counties and 12 coal-impacted communities. Closely aligned with local CEDS, our goal is to lay the groundwork over the next four years to impact 50,000 job aspirants within the decade through training, credentialing, and job creation, as well as to build an enduring pathway to economic success for future generations.
The Right Place
A revolution in vehicle electrification is stirring, and every indication places its epicenter in Wider West Alabama. The region’s five major automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are all highly motivated to recruit skilled workers. Our unemployed and underemployed population”—”a treasure trove of untapped human capital”—”is eager to up-skill and unite around a shared mission. All that separates the two is a modest skills gap, which can be bridged by our educational and community partners. Alabama’s potential has been recognized by our state’s leaders. In 2020, the state established the AL Innovation Commission (Innovate Alabama) and invested in the Tuscaloosa Innovation District’s AL Mobility and Power (AMP) Center to provide regional leadership and coordination for vehicle electrification.
To create public awareness, education, and excitement, Governor Ivey recently released the “Drive Electric Alabama” media campaign. To address the major barriers to electric vehicle (EV) adoption, The AL Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) unveiled a state- wide EV infrastructure plan. The push comes from industry as well as the state. Each of the state’s five automotive OEMs plan not only to ramp up production of EVs, but also to continue making significant investments in the state to build their production capacities. For example, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International (MBUSI), Alabama’s largest OEM, is currently undertaking a $1.2 billion expansion to its equipment and facilities, in order to support EV production. Similarly, Hyundai is investing $7.4 billion globally to build EVs, and a substantial portion of this investment is expected to go to its Montgomery, AL plant.
The Right Time
This state-level activity dovetails with the Biden Administration’s renewed national commitment to domestic manufacturing and climate leadership. Investment via the Build Back Better Agenda and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal aim to position the U.S. as the global leader of EV innovation, with an ambitious target of 50% market share by 2030. All this activity couldn’t come at a be!er time. Global supply chain disruptions, brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, have strained the ability of automotive importers to meet demand. This has exposed the vulnerability inherent to our neglect of domestic manufacturing. Furthermore, the climate and energy crises loom, with gas-powered vehicles and their emissions bearing considerable blame.
The Right People
In order for EVs to supplant gas-powered vehicles, we need to manufacture way more of them. As OEMs and their suppliers prepare to ramp up production, they’re having trouble finding enough qualified job candidates. The DRIVE Coalition was convened to determine the cause and devise a solution. Our solution comprises nine component projects that make use of our every resource and partnership.
- TIDE! : To catalyze the success of our Coalition, and to recruit and assist partners and participants, the Tuscaloosa Innovation District (TID) will construct R&D facilities at The University of Alabama (UA). This Electric Expansion Effort (TIDE!) will gather our most synergetic partners under three roofs.
- The first will house a brain trust that comprises UA’s Education Policy Center, the National Training Center for Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Technology, and the Alabama Learning & Work Research Institute.
- The second building will furnish spaces for promising EV companies to conduct R&D, recruited by the Tuscaloosa Economic Development Authority.
- The final building, constructed with match funding from UA, will be a forum for public-private partnerships, spearheaded by the Alabama Mobility & Power Center, the Alabama Transportation Institute, and the AL Department of Transportation Connected Operations Center.
- DTP : This project of West Alabama Works (WAW) endeavors to create new pathways to skilled manufacturing careers. The first of its two, Driving Talent Pathways (DTP), gives high schoolers and community college students the opportunity to earn seven stackable credentials and an Associate’s Degree. The second gives job aspirants with low educational attainment a six-module crash course, culminating in an industry-recognized credential.
- SCRM : UA’s Initiative on Manufacturing Development and Education (IMaDE) will use augmented and virtual reality technology to make hands-on technical education accessible to those without classroom access. This program for Smart & Connected Rural Manufacturing (SCRM) will work with our technology partners and Wider West Alabama’s network of community colleges to lend VR/AR equipment to students in need, then offer technical training courses and micro-credentials.
- DAO : In order to extend the reach and impact of the aforementioned programs, West Alabama Works will expand its two interconnected online platforms for Driving Access & Opportunity (DAO). The first will enable WAW to offer direct support to program participants. The second will let com- panies post jobs to program graduates.
- Pathways : Recognizing that it’s easier to get ahead when you needn’t first catch up, UA’s Education Policy Center will provide resources and support to four proven K–12 programs that boost high school completion and promote college attendance. Our mission will never be complete while systemic barriers limit access to our programs. The last three projects provide wraparound services to ensure equity.
- DRW : Many people in rural communities are excluded from the workforce due to a lack of reliable transportation. The Drive, Ride, Walk (DRW) project of the Alabama Transportation Institute will work with industry and technology partners to pursue six different strategies for increasing personal, public, and active transportation in rural communities.
- CRU : Without access to affordable childcare, rural parents are often faced with an impossible choice: leave their children in unqualified hands, or stay trapped in poverty. Shelton State Community College will assemble a Childcare Response Unit (CRU) to address this urgent need, working with its network of community childcare providers and industry sponsors.
- VitAL Reach : Poverty in Wider West Alabama has a high cost: depression, insomnia, and anxiety, as well as drug and alcohol addiction. UA’s School of Social Work will launch a behavioral health program to address the mental health issues that prevent people from getting and retaining employment.
- Governance : To best encourage and engage further support across local and state governments, as well as private sector and community based organizations, it is critical to know and be able to show what works. To that end, our ninth component, led by the EPC and CBER, focuses on continued refinements across our coalition over time while demonstrating and capturing any gains made to further encourage sustainability and investment.
Geographical Region Served
Our Coalition has identified a service area comprising 27 counties in rural Alabama, which we’ve called “Wider West Alabama.” These include all 25 counties of the Black Belt”—”a region defined by its legacy of agricultural slavery”—”and two additional counties, to round out the nine served by West AlabamaWorks.
Regional Challenges
Wider West Alabama accounts for 22,185.63 square miles (43.81%) of Alabama’s 50,645.33 square-mile footprint. 17 counties are considered sparsely populated, or alternatively extremely rural, meaning they’re home to fewer than 25 people per square mile”—”but through sheer vastness, the region still manages to encompass a fi)h of Alabama’s total population.
All of Alabama’s 23 Persistent Poverty Counties fall within Wider West Alabama. 25 counties in the region are targeted by Alabama’s statewide economic workforce development plans (out of 40 total). Six are Tribal Adjacent counties, and a full 12 are designated coal impacted communities (i.e. Coal Communities)”—”Alabama ranks 14th in total coal production and eighth in bituminous coal production in the U.S.
Wider West Alabama includes 49 of the state’s 158 Opportunity Zones, which have a poverty rate of at least 20% and a median family income of at most 80% of the statewide or area median income. In this region in particular, this means that a family of four will earn around $34 thousand, versus the state median of $52,000.
The region is characterized by high distress, low resilience, and a majority-minority demography. The high school graduation rate is 11 points low-er than the national average, at just 81%. Unsurprisingly, college attainment is even lower, with only 24% and 16% of Wider West Alabama adults having earned Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees, respectively. The national averages are more than double that, at 50% and 39%.
The employment rate of 95% fails to reflect the number of eligible adults who don’t actively participate in the workforce, which our surveys show is startlingly high. Nor does it reflect the problem of underemployment, which is most common among low-skill, low-wage workers like those in those in the region.
Regional Assets
Awareness of, and the very real possibility of, being able to use an EV more reliably, is changing across the state and will change manufacturing and purchasing even further. Despite these challenges, the region is ripe with potential. It is home to six public four-year universities, including the state’s two flagship universities, The University of Alabama and Auburn University. Additionally, it includes six community colleges with 11 satellite campuses, as well as six non-profit independent colleges and two technical colleges. Four of these are Historically Black Colleges and Universities. On top of that is a sizable network of work- force training facilities, including 20 training centers and 68 libraries. To expand employment opportunities, you need employers. Wider West Alabama is home to two of the state’s five OEMs”—”MBUSI in the west and Hyundai in the east”—”plus their networks of 40 suppliers. Together, they currently employ nearly 18,000 individuals, and new investments promise to create many more in the near future.
Counties List
Barbour County (01005), Bibb County (01007), Bullock County (01011), Butler County (01013), Choctaw County (01023), Clarke County (01025), Conecuh County (01035), Crenshaw County (01041), Dallas County (01047), Escambia County (01053), Fayette County (01057), Greene County (01063), Hale County (01065), Lamar County (01075), Lowndes County (01085), Macon County (01087), Marengo County (01091), Monroe County (01099), Montgomery County (01101), Perry County (01105), Pickens County (01107), Pike County (01109), Russell County (01113), Sumter County (01119), Tuscaloosa County (01125), Washington County (01129), Wilcox County (01131)