ATL Film Workshop Prepares Takers for Potential New Job Creators: Filmmakers

I’m under no illusions: Birmingham is not Hollywood. Heck, it’s not even Atlanta when it comes to the business of filmmaking and video creation. But I believe it can be.

It has everything a moviemaker could want: historic old buildings, gritty urban alleys, antebellum homes, rolling hills, and suburban oases. And if we expand our vision to the state at large, we have waterways and lakes, picturesque towns, sandy white beaches, not to mention places of historical significance for the Civil War to Civil Rights. (We wrote about this topic years ago in our article, “Birmingham Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Hollywood.)

Yes, Alabama is far behind the curve among states that offer tax and other incentives (like Michigan and Louisiana) to draw location scouts to consider Birmingham and other parts of Alabama. But we are getting there. Continue reading →

Skilled Labor and Schools

Skills and Schools: A Crucial Connection

SkillsUSA Alabama– a two-day expo, competition and conference that allows businesses in industries such as construction and technology to expose schoolchildren to technical careers – starts today in Birmingham.

If you’re wondering why I would take the time to write about this, let me explain.

Recent reports, such as a recently completed Harvard University study, show that too many of our kids and youth are not prepared to enter the workforce as well-trained workers, and certainly not enterprising entrepreneurs who create jobs. Continue reading →