Innovative Career Center to be First of its kind in Alabama

By Dylan Smith, Managing Editor • dylan@southerntorch.com

JACKSON COUNTY, Ala. — Jackson County School District has partnered with the Jackson County Economic Development Authority (EDA) to launch another Alabama first from Jackson County – The Trailblazing Innovation and Career Academy will break ground at the Jackson County Industrial Park, located off HWY 72 in Hollywood Alabama, on October 23rd.

The new career center is meant to provide a one-stop hub for potential employees who want to work with independent companies, from customer service representatives to managers and every role in between. It will provide hands-on training to students who are seeking a direct path from education to profession.

“This is a great development by Jackson County Schools and it will do so much to help our community for generations to come. It shows great vision,” stated Dr. David Campbell, Chair of the EDA Board and President of Northeast Alabama Community College.

“EDA Board members, Mrs. Shepard, Mr. Lee, and the college look forward to working with Jackson County Schools on this and will help any way we can.”

For those who want to establish a career right out of high school, independent company partnerships offer a promising route. The organizations tend to operate without a strict corporate structure in place, meaning independents could offer career hopefuls room to learn more, take on additional responsibility and grow with the business.

The Career Academy’s goal is to make recruitment and employee retention stronger for independent organizations with this new resource.

“We are excited for the opportunity this will offer for the future of Jackson County’s youth and also how it will offer a much-needed skilled workforce for our existing business and industry. We are proud to have had the opportunity to work with the Jackson County Board of Education to locate this center in the Jackson County Industrial Park,” Shelia Shepard, President/CEO, Jackson County EDA.

“This will put Jackson County students on a level playing field with other systems. The idea started with a conversation between our supervisors and myself.

We were discussing career tech and workforce development. We decided that we needed to do something that would be a game-changer for Jackson County,” Kevin Dukes, Superintendent of Jackson County Schools

Jackson County Innovation and Career Academy