Donate today to help Birmingham stay informed.
The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved $75,000 for a local nonprofit group’s workforce development initiative to provide underserved residents with career services.
Council members passed the item without discussion, but the agenda stated the program will offer “free career services designed to guide participants through a journey of professional growth from initial consultation to securing employment in a targeted career field with services which focus on personalized career coaching, increasing earning potential and preparing individuals for career transitions to benefit poor and needy residents of the City of Birmingham.”
The money approved Tuesday will go to Birmingham Corps, a group established in 2022 with a mission to transform community service into paid jobs with social impact. Birmingham Corps trains local residents seeking work and area businesses, government agencies and nonprofits hire them for jobs that help the community.
Birmingham Corps has partnered with organizations like Cahaba Riverkeeper, Birmingham Promise, YouthServe, Breakthrough Birmingham, the Jimmie Hale Mission and Urban Impact.
Birmingham Corps is modeled after Baltimore Corps, which was founded in 2013 with a mission to “enlist and develop passionate talent to solve major urban challenges and build a citywide agenda centered on racial equity and social innovation.”
The Maryland organization developed a national platform called City Corps and Birmingham became the first city to receive funding from the group.
City leaders have made workforce development a major policy priority in recent years. For example, this year Mayor Randall Woodfin announced a plan to use $45 million in education funds to establish a career training hub at the Arthur School site.
