MONTGOMERY, Ala. — What was previously known as the Alabama Department of Labor has been officially rebranded as the Department of Workforce, with former State Sen. Greg Reed, a Republican from Jasper, taking the helm as the state’s new labor secretary, now called the workforce secretary.
“Today is the first step in our mandate to make Alabama’s economy all that she can be, and workforce will be at the forefront of that mission,” Reed said Friday in a statement. “It is my commitment that this new agency will do all that it can to ensure Alabama workers are the best trained and most highly skilled in America.”
The rebranding effort kicked off last year as part of a seven-bill package designed to bolster labor participation in the state. As of December, Alabama’s labor participation rate, the number of adults engaged in the workforce, was 57.7%, an slight increase over the previous month but still among the lowest in the nation.
Five of the seven bills ultimately became law, with the Alabama Workforce Transformation Act, the enabling legislation behind the Labor Department’s rebranding and restructuring, being among them.
Under the bill, the workforce secretary, who until Friday was Marty Redden, appointed to the position last September after the resignation of Fitzgerald Washington, was required to submit a strategic workforce plan to the governor’s office and the Legislature on or before Feb. 1. That plan was to include recommendations for meeting labor demand. The report had not been made public as of Friday.
The bill also consolidated some of the state’s workforce agencies and redefined some of the agency’s responsibilities and goals to more closely align with the goal of increasing labor participation.
“Increasing Alabama’s labor force participation rate is the current focus of our workforce development efforts,” Ivey said in the statement. “We are attracting significant business investments and new jobs, and we are helping our existing companies grow, and it is imperative we prepare our workforce.”
Reed, who was formally the leader of the Alabama Senate as its pro tem, announced his resignation last November after four years of leading the upper chamber.
“It will be my focus to champion Gov. Ivey’s goals by collaborating with the business community, the education community, the manufacturing and industrial community, the Alabama Legislature and our federal delegation to coordinate our efforts and achieve best outcomes for the people of Alabama,” Reed said.