As it nears the end of at least the state-funded portion of its life, Auto Alley, Northwest Georgia’s workforce development system for the automotive industry, is an unqualified success, according to people involved in the program.

“We’re viewed by (state officials) as being very successful up here,” said Rich Hammond, Auto Alley project leader. “We’re quite pleased with our progress.”

Auto Alley consists of 13 counties: Floyd, Dade, Walker, Catoosa, Chattooga, Gordon, Pickens, Bartow, Cherokee, Polk, Paulding, Haralson and Carroll. It began in 2008 after the concept received a $500,000 grant from the state (using federal funds).

Seven regions in all received grants for workforce development programs. Each had to identify an industry that would need more workers specifically trained for that industry’s needs.

With the Volkswagen manufacturing plant under construction in Chattanooga, Auto Alley seems logical, but the German automaker had not announced its new site when Auto Alley was proposed two years ago. The choice was driven instead by existing automotive parts suppliers, the Honda manufacturing plant in Lincoln, Ala., and the Kia manufacturing plant in West Point that is expected to reach full production later this year, Hammond said.

“The feeling was that if there was a growth industry, it would be auto parts manufacturing,” he said.

“The two people who essentially drove it were Pete McDonald (vice president of economic development at Georgia Northwestern Technical College) and Tom Sills (GNTC grants coordinator),” Hammond said.

After the grant was approved in April 2008, Hammond was brought on board as project leader. Hammond, McDonald and Gwen Dellinger, workforce development director for the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission, form the core leadership team for Auto Alley.

Auto Alley team focused on two goals from the beginning, McDonald said. One was compiling job profiles for 32 automotive-related businesses in the region, and the other was helping individuals earn Work Ready certification, meaning their training and skills match employers’ needs.

“There are some skills that are required that haven’t been found here,” Hammond said.

Non-automotive businesses also participate in the statewide Work Ready program to identify job tasks and skill levels they need in employees.

Chamber points to program

The Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce uses Auto Alley in promoting job creation, according to Heather Seckman, director of economic development. “We have a list of all the auto suppliers that exist in Floyd County,” she said. “We promote them throughout all of Auto Alley, and we talk about Auto Alley to potential employers. We use it in all of our marketing to employers.”

Seckman said potential employers are impressed both by Auto Alley and Floyd County College and Career Academy, with its instruction in robotics and advanced manufacturing. “We’re very glad we have those two (recruiting) tools. It’s due to the visionary leadership of Georgia Northwestern Technical College. I just feel so fortunate that we have them.”

The Northwest Georgia Regional Commission acts as fiscal manager for Auto Alley because it is experienced in administering government grants, Dellinger said. “I think that the success of (Auto Alley) has been that we have established a reputation that we can implement something like this on a regional basis, and there will be other grants that we could be considered for. We do have the reputation now that we can deliver what we say we can do.”

She said the legacies of Auto Alley will be preparing students for high-tech jobs and leading parts suppliers to talk to each other about resources and common needs.

A catchy name

Trevor Hamilton, vice president of economic development with the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, said last spring that Rome and Floyd County should benefit economically from the Volkswagen plant.

Hammond also said it’s too soon to estimate job creation. “Until we start getting some more specific information on possible Volkswagen suppliers or current suppliers expanding, those numbers are a little hard to come by. The one thing we do know is that Volkswagen is going to hire in that plant.”

The Kia plant, which will ultimately employ 2,500 people, will create 6,200 additional jobs through suppliers, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development. A Georgia Tech study predicts the Kia plant will mean 20,000 new jobs by 2012 in a nine-county region.

Dellinger said Volkswagen is anticipating more than 100,000 applications for 1,700 jobs and has asked GNTC for assistance. The college will open recruiting labs at several campuses. “That’s a really nice thing for them to do. They should be commended.”

The state grant for Auto Alley expires in December. “I’d like to think we spent that money pretty wisely,” Hammond said. He said the core team is in the preliminary stages of how to keep Auto Alley going as a self-sustaining entity.

The local effort has not gone unnoticed at the state level. “I look at this region, and I often feel that 20 years from now someone’s going to write how Northwest Georgia transformed itself,” said Debra Lyons, director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development. “Sometimes we don’t see change as it’s happening. We see it in the rear view mirror.”

McDonald came up with the name Auto Alley, and it has caught on, Hammond said. “It’s kind of a catchy name. Auto Alley has kind of become a brand, and we need to make sure we take advantage of it.”