The groups behind a new public engagement campaign looking to align education and workforce training for Birmingham's growth say action could transform the city at a time when technology and economics threaten to squeeze out any economic gains over the last decade. 

The organizers of "Building (it) Together" gathered this morning at the Alabama Workforce Training Center on Sixth Avenue South, ready to hear how cooperation between community groups could make the city into an economic engine. 

But unlike previous attempts to create opportunity, those taking part said more than just conversations about working together need to take place. 

"The opportunity is in front of us," said McWane Inc. CEO Ruffner Page. " The sources of funding are readily available to achieve these goals." 

The event coincided with the release of a report, "Building (it) Together: A Framework for Aligning Education and Jobs in Greater Birmingham," which was developed by Burning Glass Technologies, a labor market analytics firm, and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), an adult learning non-profit. 

The report calls for better job training, more economic risk taking, and a focus on high value industries such as biosciences and information technology among the seven counties of the Birmingham metropolitan area. 

The report cost $150,000 and was funded by organizations in the Bold Goals Coalition Workforce Action Network: Alabama Possible, Alabama Power, Birmingham Business Alliance, Central Six AlabamaWorks!,  Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, Jefferson State Community College, United Way of Central Alabama and UAB. 

The report paints a picture of Birmingham as a city where the next decade will bring a greater demand for highly-skilled jobs in technology, while at the same time Birmingham is losing young professionals to other areas and faces a shortage of people to fill middle-management positions. 

To change this narrative, the Bold Goals Coalition hopes to get various public and private institutions working to implement the suggestions of the "Building (it) Together" plan.  Tuesday's meeting had various statements of support. 

"Any city will change over time," said Sanjay Singh, chairman of the Birmingham Business Alliance's Workforce Development Advisory Council. " Our job is to adapt and adopt.  We don't need to reinvent the wheel." 

One problem identified by the report was a lack of new wealth.  According to the research, Birmingham's key industries are non-traded businesses that involve money moving within the region, rather than bringing in wealth from outside through traded industries. 

Birmingham has 71 percent of non-traded businesses, while the national average is 64 percent. 

The Magic City has proved resilient over the last decade since the 2008 Recession, but its economic growth has not kept pace with its neighboring Southern metro areas, like Nashville, Charlotte, Atlanta or New Orleans, the report stated. 

At the same time, about 40 percent of the area's workforce is at risk of losing their jobs due to automation.  Alabama is second to last in startup activity nationally, and its historically low income level makes the area adverse to risk. 

Add to that wages, housing and employment gaps across the educational and social spectrum between whites and blacks.  All these factors need attention and action, participants said. 

Drew Langloh, CEO of United Way of Central Alabama, said his organization helped fund the study as a way to know what the region's next direction should be.  Action on the report's findings and recommendations will come after a series of regional community presentations and conversations to take place through August. 

Langloh was particularly struck by the data on non-traded businesses. 

"I don't think I realized how much this area relies on jobs that recirculate money as opposed to bringing in wealth from outside," he said. 

Suzanne Austin, senior vice provost and chief international officer at UAB, said there are also areas of concern for the future.  The supply of workers for IT jobs in the Birmingham region cannot currently meet the demand, which is only going to grow. 

From 2010 to 2015, the demand for IT grew by 77 percent, and will only continue to expand.  Educational programs in schools, colleges and universities must take note of these needs, and regional recruitment efforts should go forward to attract more talent to the region, organizers said.