MONTGOMERY- Dr. Tim Alford, the retiring chairman of the Alabama State Workforce Investment Board, received a special recognition from Gov. Robert Bentley and the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs at the board's meeting Tuesday in Montgomery.

ADECA Director Jim Byard Jr. presented Alford with a certificate of appreciation from Bentley for his years of service to the state. He was appointed to the board by former Gov. Don Siegelman in 1999 and served through three administrations. Gov. Bob Riley appointed Alford as director of the Alabama Office of Workforce Development from 2003 to 2007.

Alford also is retiring from his current position as executive director of the Alabama Construction Recruitment Institute, a group educating young people, parents, teachers and others about job opportunities in the construction industry.

A native of Samson, Alford served as mayor of Enterprise from 2000 until his appointment by Riley in late 2003. He was the founding executive director of the Enterprise Economic Development Corp., a public-private partnership that leads economic development efforts in Coffee, Dale and Geneva counties.

The Central Gulf Industrial Alliance (CGIA), an employer-driven business alliance that provides a forum for users of craft labor, represents SAWDC's industrial construction and manufacturing cluster.  In partnership with CGIA, Bishop State Community College, the Alabama Career Center - Mobile, the City of Mount Vernon, and AIDT, SAWDC is coordinating the CGIA Welding Training Program as part of its work related to the National Fund for Workforce Solutions(NFWS). NFWS is dedicated to investing in industry partnerships that effectively assist low-income individuals to obtain employment and advance in careers paying family-sustaining wages and benefits, while at the same time ensuring that employers have the high-quality human resources that will enable them to succeed in this dynamic and competitive economy.

The goal of the CGIA Welding Training Program is to develop and implement a systematic and comprehensive program to recruit, train, and manage new entry level craft professionals for employment by the industrial construction and manufacturing employers of CGIA. This program will feature two six-month training sessions (one day session and one night session), which will be held in Mount Vernon, Alabama and commence in July 2013. 

• Each session will have eleven participants for a total of twenty-two participants.
• Military veterans, dislocated workers, and residents of Mount Vernon, Alabama will be given selection priority.
• Training will adhere to the NCCER (formerly known as National Center for Construction Education and Research) curriculum.