Tuscaloosa County, West AlabamaWorks Launch Student Employment Portal

TUSCALOOSA, AL — In an effort to connect local high school students with gainful employment and potential career paths, the Tuscaloosa County Commission and West AlabamaWorks have launched the I.G.N.I.T.E Student Employment Portal.

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The portal, which is thought to be the first of its kind, went live on Monday and is open for ages 14-18. The goal of the portal, county officials said, is to build on the traditional summer jobs program and include year-round jobs, co-ops, and apprenticeships.

Commissioners in January unanimously approved a contract to partner with WestAlabamaWorks to develop the site, in addition to other workforce and community development services.

West AlabamaWorks says it will continue to add jobs to the portal and work with Tuscaloosa City Schools and the Tuscaloosa County School System to connect students to jobs and career paths.

Employers can also post jobs on the portal by clicking here.

“The Commission is pleased to see the launch of this innovative and much-needed site ahead of schools letting out for summer," Tuscaloosa County Probate Judge Rob Robertson said. “At a time with unprecedented labor shortages, it is essential we get our students active and trained for our workforce. We believe this program will also help prepare students for meaningful and productive future careers.”

As part of the jobs portal concept, West AlabamaWorks also developed I.G.N.I.T.E — a set of soft skills needed to be successful in the workforce.

“I.G.N.I.T.E. really stands for igniting students’ opportunities for jobs, but also each one of the letters stand for a character trait or a type of responsibility that we have as workers. So, it really ties character and employability skills to our students, and it’s got a lot of training to go along with this for our students” said West AlabamaWorks Donny Jones said. “It is an exciting time that we’re going to be igniting the kids' opportunities.”

I.G.N.I.T.E stands for:

I – Integrity

G – Gratitude

N – Never Give Up

I – Initiative

T – Timeliness

E – Enthusiasm

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