Local K-12 Work with Kyle South

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability and to correct obvious transcription errors while preserving the meaning of the original conversation.

Brandon Burton (00:01)
Hello, Chamber Champions. Welcome to Chamber Chat Podcast. I'm your host, Brandon Burton, and here on the podcast, I introduce you to people and ideas to better help you serve your chamber members and your community.

Today's guest is Kyle South, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama, where he leads efforts focused on economic growth, business development, workforce initiatives, and quality of life across the region.

Kyle brings a unique perspective to that work, combining experience in the private sector with a background in public service as a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives. His experience in business, government, and public policy gives him a broad understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing employers and communities throughout Alabama.

In his current role, Kyle works closely with leaders in business, education, government, and the community to strengthen West Alabama's economy, encourage collaboration, and create new opportunities for the people and businesses who call the region home.

Kyle, I'm excited to have you with us today here on Chamber Chat Podcast. I'd love to give you an opportunity to say hello to all the Chamber Champions who are listening. If you would, share something interesting about yourself so we can all get to know you a little better.

Kyle South (01:18)
First and foremost, Brandon, thank you for the opportunity to come on and share some of the great stories and feel-good impacts that we're making here in West Alabama, specifically in Tuscaloosa.

As far as something interesting about me, I don't know how interesting I am. The one thing that I think has served me well over the years is that I am an avid golfer. A lot of the relationships I've built, whether political, business, or otherwise, have revolved around the golf course. When I say to my wife or my team here that I'm going to play golf, I'm really going to work.

Brandon Burton (02:02)
That's right. A lot of business gets done out there on the course.

Tell us a little bit about the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama. Help give us an idea of the chamber's size, the scope of work you're involved with, the budget, and that sort of thing to set the stage for our discussion.

Kyle South (02:23)
We are 1,300 members strong, representing about 65,000 employees throughout West Alabama. While our origins weren't necessarily regional, our name obviously is. Over the years, we have developed a regional application to what we do, both in the chamber and through our workforce development initiatives, across a nine-county region in West Alabama.

We are proud not only to support those workforce needs in often underserved communities but also to help serve the smaller chambers throughout our region. Budget-wise, we are in the $2 million to $2.5 million range. A lot of that is supported by our workforce initiatives.

We contract with the State of Alabama to provide some of those services throughout our nine-county region and have done so for quite some time. It is an interesting dynamic that we bring to the table, helping support business and industry throughout West Alabama. It gives us more tools in our toolbox to better serve our membership.

Brandon Burton (03:43)
That's perfect. It helps set the stage. Being a regional chamber with a keen focus on workforce is a big deal, especially as we get into our topic today, which will revolve around the work you're doing in the school systems, specifically K-12. We'll dive into that as soon as we get back from this quick break.

All right, Kyle, we're back. As I mentioned before the break, we're going to dive into the great work you're doing with schools and K-12 programs. I know a lot of chambers get involved with their local school districts, but I'd love to know the approach you take specifically and get into the fruits we're seeing from the work you've put in with the schools.

Kyle South (04:37)
We have very strong relationships with both our county and city systems here in Tuscaloosa, as well as regional school systems throughout the nine counties we serve.

Several years ago, a problem was brought to us by the automotive industry, which has a major influence and concentration here locally. Mercedes is the anchor, along with its supplier network, which is often located within our region. They were having trouble finding young people willing to go directly into production-line work.

If you were looking at industrial maintenance or something that required a two-year or four-year degree, the pipelines were fairly healthy. Where they didn't have a steady pipeline was into production jobs that may or may not look like a traditional path.

We developed a program that we refer to as Modern Manufacturing. It allows K-12 students to start that training earlier in the process. In 10th, 11th, and 12th grades, they earn five stackable credentials. They come out of high school ready to enter the workforce. They can cross the stage for graduation and often have a job ready for them.

We've also seen employers use the program to identify the students they want to place into two-year and four-year degree pathways. They've used it as an education pipeline for themselves as much as a workforce pipeline.

It has become very strong—so much so that we expanded our contract statewide. At the time of this conversation, 44 school systems across Alabama were participating in the program.

There are stories from before my time at the chamber where business and industry wanted to invest in the teacher unit because a rural school system didn't have the teacher unit needed to offer the program. The caveat often put in place was, “We are providing this teacher unit for the local school system, but we want the first option on the students performing well in the program.”

I think that's fair. It shows the work being done through those programs and that business and industry see the model as a stepping stone toward developing good employees.

Brandon Burton (07:45)
Absolutely. I have two children who graduated from high school in the last couple of years. When students cross the stage, you see whether their next step is college, a career, or the military. I'll admit, when watching them cross the stage, you don't see many going directly into careers.

A lot of students are pushed toward college. That's not a bad thing, but many take on a lot of debt without knowing what they want to do for a career. If they can enter a career and then see a path for career development, that's a great benefit to a student trying to figure out life.

You said 44 school systems are participating. What does the level of involvement look like for the school system and the student?

Kyle South (09:04)
From the school system's side, it takes space and a teacher unit. We have the curriculum built out, so it's a ready-made curriculum that we hired a third party to put together. It requires buy-in, just like any other career or technical class offered on campus, whether it's welding or something similar.

The students are immersed in those processes. A lot of credentialing takes place, but the program also includes the soft skills that are a necessity and often aren't taught as much.

Brandon Burton (09:45)
That makes sense. From a chamber perspective, what does the involvement look like when you have 44 school systems you're working with?

Kyle South (09:53)
We have project managers throughout the state who work hands-on with the program directors in the K-12 systems while also trying to connect them with business and industry in their regions. We are trying to go all the way from the classroom to a career.

The majority of the program was born from a relationship with Mercedes. The workforce crisis hit them sooner than it hit many other people. The question was how we could develop a pipeline that would be sustainable in the years to come. That's where we landed.

It has been a great investment for us as an organization, and I think the state sees it the same way. We are seeing success after success from the students going through those programs.

Brandon Burton (10:55)
As the program is rolled out in the schools and students get involved, is there a name for it? Is the chamber's name on it anywhere?

Kyle South (11:07)
Modern Manufacturing is what it's called in the course selection.

Brandon Burton (11:16)
Would a student know the chamber is involved in the curriculum and in making it available?

Kyle South (11:23)
Probably not. It is a regular class they sign up for. We're doing the connecting work on the front end and the back end. It has been a great place for us to be. It has delivered many quality workforce pipelines throughout our area and now even farther beyond our region.

Brandon Burton (11:50)
You mentioned that it largely started with the needs of Mercedes. As students get involved with Modern Manufacturing, what other industries do you see them entering after graduation?

Kyle South (12:05)
Throughout Alabama, the real focus of going statewide was developed around original equipment manufacturers and the automotive industry. It has now grown into the shipbuilding industry in South Alabama and some defense manufacturing in north and east Alabama.

We even have a local industry that creates woven wire mesh like you would see in window screens, as well as the mesh inside backer board used for laying tile. They have been highly engaged in these programs throughout their areas.

Brandon Burton (12:55)
I'm sure more industries emerge as workforce needs arise, and you can plug them into this curriculum and help feed new workers into those businesses.

Kyle South (13:06)
No question. Beyond that, we've had a lot of focus on K-12 education over the last year. Last fall, following a local referendum, we convened a group of stakeholders to discuss K-12 education needs, what those needs would look like financially, and the broader spectrum of K-12 education.

We conducted an in-depth study. About 70 of our members and stakeholders participated over the course of approximately six months. It culminated with our FutureFocus event, which was previously referred to as our education and workforce summit. We presented a report to the public during the event to highlight concerns and challenges, as well as opportunities within our local K-12 systems.

One thing that came out of the study was the need to focus as a community on truancy and chronic absenteeism. We noted that absenteeism led to deficiencies in test scores, behavior issues, and other challenges.

In one school, almost 30% of the students were considered chronically absent, meaning they were missing 10% of the school year. Whether the absences were excused or unexcused didn't matter. If students weren't in class, they were included in that number.

The state tracks that as part of the individual school's public letter-grade report card, allowing us to see how schools perform in relation to surrounding schools and others across the state. We made it our mission to find a way to tackle that one issue, which led to so many other things identified in the study.

I'm happy to report that we secured $630,000 this past week from a local organization to help invest in the effort, as well as another $91,000 from the state. The state had these programs in pockets across Alabama but not here in West Alabama.

By stacking those resources with a proven model that the state had adopted in other judicial circuits, we will be able to implement the program later this fall because of the study.

Brandon Burton (16:20)
That will make a huge impact—both getting the funding and getting those students into school, where they can be educated and move forward.

Kyle South (16:29)
It's interesting to pull back the curtain on the data. You might think certain racial or socioeconomic barriers were what led to those problems and challenges, but you would be surprised by how widely dispersed the problems are.

We need, as a community, to pay more attention to that. When we explain it to business and industry, those children in the K-12 system now are the workforce of the future. If they're not showing up for school, they may not show up for their jobs either.

Brandon Burton (17:16)
Did the study show when students started becoming absent? Did it begin as early as kindergarten, or was it more common in middle school and high school?

Kyle South (17:27)
It ran the gamut. There are certain areas where the problems persist more and may be deeper. There are pockets of transportation issues and family support systems that need to be strengthened.

We have services available to those families that we can help connect through this program and help them become more effective at the same time.

Brandon Burton (18:12)
That's an indicator that, as you look deeper into the homes of those children, there may be more potential workers who could be engaged as well. Transportation or similar barriers may be affecting them. As you peel back the layers, you get more information.

It sounds like there's a detailed plan to deploy these funds.

Kyle South (18:45)
Yes, there's a very detailed plan. We have the district attorney's office involved, along with all the local school systems, and we'll have the ability to hire social workers to go out and case-manage some of these situations. There's good work happening on that front.

Brandon Burton (19:07)
That makes a lot of sense. I'll be curious to see what the future surveys look like.

Is there anything else about your K-12 work that comes to mind where you're seeing benefits you'd like to share?

Kyle South (19:28)
Education as a whole is becoming harder and a bigger challenge. There are so many ties back to workforce and the ability of business and industry to be successful.

We're positioned in a place where higher education is a huge asset to our community, whether it's the University of Alabama, Stillman College, or Shelton State Community College, our two-year school. How do we bridge those things together?

Long term, I think talent is the best incentive we have to offer future businesses. How do we retain that talent within our community? At a high-water mark, about 60% of the University of Alabama's student population came from out of state. How do we keep our piece of that pie going forward? What kinds of reimagined industries can we take advantage of with that level of talent at our fingertips?

Brandon Burton (20:43)
Having a good football team always helps, right?

Kyle South (20:47)
It doesn't hurt at all. We'll see where we are in a few weeks.

Brandon Burton (20:56)
As we begin to wrap up, I always like to ask, on behalf of those listening, what tip or action item you would share with chambers trying to move to the next level.

Kyle South (21:10)
One of the things I love most about my job and about bringing my prior experience into this role is that we are advocates. In a climate where businesses and corporations may not be at the top of the list in public polling, advocacy is a job we need to take more seriously.

We have to be the voice for business and industry within our community to help it flourish and create more opportunities. We're becoming more engaged in those efforts, whether through policy discussions or community initiatives, because we can see some of the challenges.

While we're in a very good position locally right now, you never know where the next hurdle is coming from.

Brandon Burton (22:14)
Absolutely. You have to keep your eye on the ball and see what's coming next.

I always like asking everyone on the show about the future of chambers. Kyle, how do you see the future of chambers and their purpose going forward?

Kyle South (22:32)
I think we always have to look at it as a two-way valuation. As long as our goal is to bring value to our membership—and we know we couldn't exist without those members—I think we're in good shape.

There are bigger needs out there than what I've seen in the past. We have to be ready to engage in those conversations, including difficult conversations, to be that trusted leader in the community.

Brandon Burton (23:09)
With the topic we covered today around preparing the workforce, many students are going directly into manufacturing positions after high school. You have several members that are heavily involved in manufacturing and others that aren't. How do you express the value of your work in schools to members that aren't involved in manufacturing?

Kyle South (25:19)
It's a balance. The majority of all businesses are small businesses, and we have to keep our focus there while still serving larger industrial members in ways that don't have the same impact on a small business.

We're doing that through training, advocacy, and being a trusted source of information. I came from a small-business background. I think that's the core. As we move forward, we have to make sure we're serving the whole membership and are diversified in what that level of programming looks like.

The needs—even the workforce needs—of our large industrial partners are changing every day. Mercedes announced a $4 billion investment this past spring with no new jobs announced as part of it. That's a huge capital investment that isn't intended to expand the workforce.

What does that mean? It means the jobs of today become the jobs of the future, and the skill sets look different and more advanced. How do we serve those needs? How do we make sure technology isn't leaving small businesses behind? I think that will be something we focus on in the future.

There's a lot of work to be done. Somebody has to do it, and I think chambers are the kinds of groups to do it.

Brandon Burton (27:14)
The work is never-ending. You're doing a great job with it.

Kyle South (27:17)
Never. That's been one of my frustrations. I'm three years into this role. I had a long checklist of goals I wanted to accomplish. What I learned quickly is that you very rarely get to cross something completely off your list. I guess it's good for job security.

Brandon Burton (27:37)
You get half a check mark through it.

Kyle, I'd like to give you an opportunity to share contact information for listeners who want to connect and learn more about how you're doing things in West Alabama. Where would you point them?

Kyle South (27:58)
Please feel free to email me at kyle@westalabamachamber.com. Our website is westalabamachamber.com. It has a litany of resources about not only what we're doing but our communities as a whole.

I invite anyone to reach out who has questions, concerns, or new ideas we might be able to replicate as well.

Brandon Burton (28:43)
Perfect. We'll include that information in our show notes and make it easy for people to find and reach out to you.

Kyle, this has been great. It's always rewarding to see the fruits of the work taking place. A lot of chambers get involved with education and help develop the workforce pipeline, but much of that work is still new in many communities.

This conversation should give chambers hope that the work they're doing can lead to something great. Thank you for sharing this with us today.

Kyle South (29:17)
Thank you for your time and your willingness to engage in these conversations.