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Today
The Governor is also in town for a ribbon cutting.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Governor Kay Ivey is visiting Huntsville Monday for the grand opening of the WellStone Emergency Services Crisis Center.
Ivey will give brief remarks prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony and a tour of the facility.
The WellStone Crisis Center will feature 16 beds and 15 recliners and will provide services for people undergoing mental-health or substance-use issues.
Along with Governor Ivey will be Alabama Department of Mental Health Commissioner Kimberly Boswell and the Executive Director of the crisis center, Jeremy Blair.
The ceremony is scheduled to begin at10 a.m.
Governor Ivey will also be in town soon to celebrate the opening of the new Technology School in the east Research Park. I really support efforts like that for the kids of the state. And - it's stimulated the construction of a nice low-rise building across the street. The school kids, Huntsville, and the state are all winners here.
Governor Ivey will also be in town soon to celebrate the opening of the new Technology School in the east Research Park. I really support efforts like that for the kids of the state. And - it's stimulated the construction of a nice low-rise building across the street. The school kids, Huntsville, and the state are all winners here.
There is a huge need in this area for quality education and schools that focus on STEM. Our company would not be able to operate in this area if it was not for us, highly educated, out of state engineers.
If I am not mistaken, only 25% of the population of this state have a college degree- the amount of Engineering graduates coming out of the University of Alabama, Auburn, UAH, UAB and Tuskegee does not even scratch the surface of the needs for STEM professionals in this area for the next 5-10 years.
In addition to a shortage of engineers, our company struggles to find qualified technicians, machinists and just about any type of specialized machine shop professional- the quality of the professionals we find in this area is mostly subpar- so there needs to be heavy investment also in community/technical colleges that can prepare professionals for technical "floor" positions in Aerospace manufacturing.
In addition to a shortage of engineers, our company struggles to find qualified technicians, machinists and just about any type of specialized machine shop professional- the quality of the professionals we find in this area is mostly subpar- so there needs to be heavy investment also in community/technical colleges that can prepare professionals for technical "floor" positions in Aerospace manufacturing.
Just spitballing here, but maybe your company isn't competitive in recruiting.
This area does offer a lot of Government and Private Sector opportunities for talent.
Nowadays Employers here really have to go big or go home.
There is a huge need in this area for quality education and schools that focus on STEM. Our company would not be able to operate in this area if it was not for us, highly educated, out of state engineers.
If I am not mistaken, only 25% of the population of this state have a college degree- the amount of Engineering graduates coming out of the University of Alabama, Auburn, UAH, UAB and Tuskegee does not even scratch the surface of the needs for STEM professionals in this area for the next 5-10 years.
In addition to a shortage of engineers, our company struggles to find qualified technicians, machinists and just about any type of specialized machine shop professional- the quality of the professionals we find in this area is mostly subpar- so there needs to be heavy investment also in community/technical colleges that can prepare professionals for technical "floor" positions in Aerospace manufacturing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by y8tiger
Just spitballing here, but maybe your company isn't competitive in recruiting.
This area does offer a lot of Government and Private Sector opportunities for talent.
Nowadays Employers here really have to go big or go home.
Myself and quite a few other engineers I know, no longer work in the engineering field. Some are upper management/VP's at non-engineering companies, some own their own businesses and some are in construction fields because they can make a lot more money. The engineering companies around here like to do a lot of complaining about not being able to attract and retain enough engineers but yet they treat them like corporations treat employees so they leave for greener pastures. It is a constant cycle of young and recent graduate engineers.
some latest real estate numbers for the region.
Courtesy of Stuart Norton, associate director of the Alabama Center for Real Estate at the University of Alabama.
A total of 776 homes were sold in August in Madison County, down from 802 in July and 861 in 2021. In Athens and Limestone County, 191 homes were sold, up from 183 the previous month, down from 235 in August 2021. In the Decatur area, 188 homes were sold, up from 163 in July and 177 in August of last year.
The average sales price in Madison County was $367,000 in August. The average sales price in Athens-Limestone was $359,000, a drop of about $27,000 from July, but up from $334,000 in August 2021. The average sales price in Decatur dropped $16,000 from July to $259,000. It is still up from $245,000 from a year.
Inventory continues to rise in each market. There were 1,326 homes on the market in August in Madison County, up from 662 in 2021. The average home is on the market 11 days. In Athens-Limestone, there were 412 on the market, up from 197 in 2021. Homes are on the market there an average of 12 days. In the Decatur area, there are 273 homes in the market, up from 159 in 2021. Homes are on the market there an average of 22 days.
Norton said the area is slowly trending toward a more balanced market.
“Months of supply are really a good indicator,” he said. “Months of supply, you have 1.5 in Morgan County. A balanced market would have four or five months of supply. This time last year, they were at 0.9. … There is a long way to go.”
Norton said he initially thought rising interest rates would take home sales down by 5-10% statewide by the end of the year.
“Now I think a decline of 10-15% is likely,” he said. “That’s just the market reacting to rising rates. Demand needed to be cooled off. Price growth was rising around 20% statewide in December 2021. I think price growth will moderate to 8-10% by year’s end.”
There is a huge need in this area for quality education and schools that focus on STEM. Our company would not be able to operate in this area if it was not for us, highly educated, out of state engineers.
If I am not mistaken, only 25% of the population of this state have a college degree- the amount of Engineering graduates coming out of the University of Alabama, Auburn, UAH, UAB and Tuskegee does not even scratch the surface of the needs for STEM professionals in this area for the next 5-10 years.
In addition to a shortage of engineers, our company struggles to find qualified technicians, machinists and just about any type of specialized machine shop professional- the quality of the professionals we find in this area is mostly subpar- so there needs to be heavy investment also in community/technical colleges that can prepare professionals for technical "floor" positions in Aerospace manufacturing.
As of the 2020 Census:
26.2% of Alabama residents have at least a bachelor's degree (ages 25 and up)
43.8% of Madison County
44.0% of Huntsville
62.2% of Madison City
Agree that Machinists, other technicians, etc., are not in great supply but as far as I know most of the aerospace/defense work done here is R&D.
And I intuitively believe it's true that the majority, over 50%, of the engineers have come from some other state. That notion is backed up by personal experience, but my experience doesn't cover the entire gamut. But face it - very few people qualify to even enter engineering school, let alone complete it, so there has to be a large number of imports.
Myself and quite a few other engineers I know, no longer work in the engineering field. Some are upper management/VP's at non-engineering companies, some own their own businesses and some are in construction fields because they can make a lot more money. The engineering companies around here like to do a lot of complaining about not being able to attract and retain enough engineers but yet they treat them like corporations treat employees so they leave for greener pastures. It is a constant cycle of young and recent graduate engineers.
Not me - I retired after 40+ years and spend the majority of my time on the golf course, gym, and working around the house. I love to read, but most of my reading is for pure enjoyment, not technical books.
some latest real estate numbers for the region.
Courtesy of Stuart Norton, associate director of the Alabama Center for Real Estate at the University of Alabama.
A total of 776 homes were sold in August in Madison County, down from 802 in July and 861 in 2021. In Athens and Limestone County, 191 homes were sold, up from 183 the previous month, down from 235 in August 2021. In the Decatur area, 188 homes were sold, up from 163 in July and 177 in August of last year.
The average sales price in Madison County was $367,000 in August. The average sales price in Athens-Limestone was $359,000, a drop of about $27,000 from July, but up from $334,000 in August 2021. The average sales price in Decatur dropped $16,000 from July to $259,000. It is still up from $245,000 from a year.
Inventory continues to rise in each market. There were 1,326 homes on the market in August in Madison County, up from 662 in 2021. The average home is on the market 11 days. In Athens-Limestone, there were 412 on the market, up from 197 in 2021. Homes are on the market there an average of 12 days. In the Decatur area, there are 273 homes in the market, up from 159 in 2021. Homes are on the market there an average of 22 days.
Norton said the area is slowly trending toward a more balanced market.
“Months of supply are really a good indicator,” he said. “Months of supply, you have 1.5 in Morgan County. A balanced market would have four or five months of supply. This time last year, they were at 0.9. … There is a long way to go.”
Norton said he initially thought rising interest rates would take home sales down by 5-10% statewide by the end of the year.
“Now I think a decline of 10-15% is likely,” he said. “That’s just the market reacting to rising rates. Demand needed to be cooled off. Price growth was rising around 20% statewide in December 2021. I think price growth will moderate to 8-10% by year’s end.”
Inflation is so rampant, and mortgage rates have tripled (just in the last few months) from about 2% to 6%, it drives a lot of buyers out of the market. And there really doesn't seem to be much relief in sight. The interest rate has a huge impact on affordability. Plus, building supplies have increased exponentially, labor rates have gone up to try to keep up with inflation, and the result is that even in "booming" areas like this, some people are screwed.
Just spitballing here, but maybe your company isn't competitive in recruiting.
This area does offer a lot of Government and Private Sector opportunities for talent.
Nowadays Employers here really have to go big or go home.
Or complain about...."No one wants to work anymore" or Skilled employees just don't exist anymore". The real fact is either pay, benefits, or how employees are treated just don't measure up to the competition. Just at Auburn alone there are 5,300 undergrades and 1,100 graduate students. I understand from my sister in laws brother and his wife who are both Aero Space Engineers that at many places the pay is just not competitive and in fact they went into contracting their services.
As far as machinists, the Marietta area has a wealth of talent in this area.
Or complain about...."No one wants to work anymore" or Skilled employees just don't exist anymore". The real fact is either pay, benefits, or how employees are treated just don't measure up to the competition. Just at Auburn alone there are 5,300 undergrades and 1,100 graduate students. I understand from my sister in laws brother and his wife who are both Aero Space Engineers that at many places the pay is just not competitive and in fact they went into contracting their services.
As far as machinists, the Marietta area has a wealth of talent in this area.
I assume you mean those majoring in engineering? There may be 5300 who say they major in engineering in their freshman year, but nowhere near that many graduate. My freshman year at a different school, we had to take Chem I and Chem II. Chem I got rid of 50% of the engineering class. Chem II filitered out another 50% from what was left. So immediately, just one course of study, eliminated 75% of those who thought they wanted to be an engineer. And that's only the beginning - you have fluid mechanics, strength of materials, a plethora of advanced math courses, physics, endless labs that you don't get credit for -- not all that many make it to graduation day.
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