The Real Deal

By Sharman Egan Lagniappe columnist

The bon temps just keep on rolling. First, the ThyssenKrupp steel mill announcement in mid-May. Then two weeks later, the “Gov” was back in town to announce the new Berg Steel Pipe plant.

Both success stories are the result of aggressive recruiting campaigns by city, county and state officials, the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and various other parties. In both cases, Mobile was competing with numerous sites across the country. Our leaders deserve a big “atta boy/atta girl” for bringing these trophies home. Of course, the boys and girls gave up a chunk of our tax dollars to make it happen. In return, we got jobs. Lots of jobs, and they promise to pay big bucks.

ThyssenKrupp is expected to provide 29,000 temporary construction jobs, 2,700 permanent jobs at the plant and another 4,300 indirect jobs. The permanent jobs at the mill will pay an average of somewhere between $41,900 and $65,000 annually, depending on who you believe (the $41,900 figure comes from a study from the Alabama Development Office; the official announcement from City Hall gave a figure of $50,000-$65,000). Berg says it will create 100-150 new jobs, paying between $12 and $18 per hour. That’s a lot of pretty nice jobs in little ol’ Mobile.

But where are we headed? Are we becoming another Birmingham or Pittsburgh, a steel town with mostly manufacturing jobs? What if you want to work in a nice cushy air-conditioned office instead of a steel plant? And what about jobs to attract and retain the much-touted “creative class?” Is Mobile’s economy diverse enough to offer the range of jobs needed to continue to grow and prosper in the 21st century?

Leigh-Perry Herndon, vice president of communications for the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, says the Chamber understands the need for a diverse job base. “We have all skill types in our community so it’s important to have a mix of jobs. When we’re recruiting new companies, we have to be concerned about jobs for the families of those companies’ employees – spouses and even their children.”

According to Herndon, the two recent steel industry successes are a result of the Chamber’s focus on projects that leverage the area’s natural assets: two airports (one of which has a runway large enough to land the space shuttle, as she pointed out), a deep port and two interstates.

“These are our key drivers,” she said. And it’s not just about more jobs; it’s about better-paying jobs. “We want to raise the average annual salary in the area. We want better paying jobs for workers in Mobile.”

Herndon said the Chamber has many other deals in the works that could continue to expand the range of jobs offered in Mobile. “We are working on 22 active projects in various industries. Our focus is on oil and gas exploration, healthcare, biomedical, shipbuilding, aerospace and transportation.”

She was also quick to point out the diversity of existing industries and organizations that offer jobs in Mobile, including jobs for highly-skilled “creative class” workers, such as the Mitchell Cancer Institute, Austal and high tech companies. “Over 3000 people are employed in high tech jobs in the Mobile Bay area, and that number is growing every day,” said Herndon. “High tech is a quiet industry. It’s not stealing headlines but it is so important to our area.”

But what about good jobs for workers who don’t have college degrees and don’t want to – or can’t – work in a manufacturing environment such as a steel plant? James Patrick, recruiting manager for Sears Holdings Corp., wants the community to know that service organizations offer large numbers of good jobs in the Mobile area.

“Our call center offered 84 jobs to the local community during the month of April,” said Patrick. And, like many manufacturing companies, “we offer a very competitive, paid training program to our associates.” There are a number of other large call centers in Mobile including ones operated by West Teleservices and Hertz. That’s not a coincidence; the industry has been a focus of successful economic development efforts in the past.

Banking is another service industry that offers large numbers of jobs in Mobile outside of manufacturing. For example, a quick check of the Regions and Compass Bank web sites showed that each organization had 17 current openings in Mobile, at various levels from entry level up to branch management. According to Mark Wood, vice president at Regions, the entry level jobs start at $8-10 per hour, below the wages that will be offered at ThyssenKrupp and Berg. But, as Wood pointed out, these jobs offer solid career paths, even if you don’t have a college degree.

“A lot of people have the misconception that you need a degree in finance to pursue a career in banking but that’s not the case,” Wood said. “I’ve seen many success stories over the years, people who started out as tellers and worked their way up to management. There’s nothing holding you back if you have the motivation and you’re willing to work hard.”

So, if you’re looking for a job in Mobile, there are plenty of opportunities to choose from, and they’re not all in manufacturing. But, if you ask me, with our low unemployment rates and all the new jobs coming to town, the best job in town is corporate recruiter.

Sharman Egan is Lagniappe lagniappe columnist. Contact her at Sharman@SharmanEgan.com.

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