Our Story

A small group gathered at Hubbard's Off Main and began discussing what industry needed to survive and thrive. The answer: a skilled workforce pipeline to fill high wage/high demand career fields that retains the population of our region.

The solution? Training and upskilling workers through a workforce development center that would serve high school students by day and adult learners by night.

In January, February and September of 2023, a series of visits to PIE (Partnerships in Industry & Education) were made to learn as much as possible on how their workforce development center was built. Representatives from PIE shared the resources needed for success, the benefit the center has had on students, the region and area industries, lessons learned, possibilities and so much more!

Elected officials, industry leaders, economic development partners and educators attended the trips and became foundational partners in garnering support for a workforce development center in northeast Alabama. 

Four case teams comprised of elected officials, business leaders, educators and community leaders were formed and began working on the development of this project in the spring of 2023. Through these case teams, the name CREATE (Choccolocco Research Education Arts and Technology Experience) was born.

Close to 60 individuals made up the case teams:

• Business Case
• Process Case
• Product Case
• Marketing Case (pictured)
   

Lorie Denton was named director of development to spearhead efforts to bring together and foster collaboration among industry partners, elected officials and community organizations. 

Knowing the economic impact and importance of giving our kids the tools they need to enter the workforce, the Calhoun County Economic Development Council and Oxford City Council were instrumental in working with the Oxford City Schools Board of Education to secure the funding needed to make this dream a reality for the region.

Thanks to the Alabama Construction Industry Craft Training Board (CICT), we were able to begin to provide upskill training in the evenings for adults in the areas of commercial carpentry, electrical, plumbing, HVAC and welding.

This is a free, 12-week program offered to anyone 18+ interested in pursuing a career in the commercial construction field in order to strengthen the workforce pipeline in our region.

To have a building already equipped with the space and functionality to support workforce development programs right here in our community was a miracle! With the help of a village, the Honeywell building officially became the Choccolocco Research Education Arts and Technical Experience center (CREATE).

Adult commercial construction students became the first group of learners to take up residence in the building. Previously, they had met in the evenings at Oxford High School. 

Students officially arrived for classes in August of 2024. For the first year, the center will serve students from Oxford High School. The gradual roll-out will give time to prepare for phase two when more students and pathways make their home at CREATE for the 2025-26 school year.

The initial pathways include:

• Engineering
• Greenpower
• Computer Science
• Robotics
• Comprehensive Commercial Construction
• Modern Manufacturing

CREATE was formally celebrated by Governor Ivey along with 400 guests at the November 2024 ribbon cutting ceremony. 

Students from 16 schools across a five county region will begin classes at CREATE in the fall of 2025. The five counties include Calhoun, Cleburne, Clay, Talladega and St. Clair. This is the result of significant collaboration among school districts to align schedules, transportation, child nutrition, curriculum and more. 

New pathways will also launch:

• Cybersecurity
• IMPACT (Mechatronics, Electrical, HVAC, Industrial Automation, Mechanical Design) 
• Law Enforcement and Public Safety

Adjacent to the Anniston Regional Airport, CREATE is the perfect location to begin offering an aviation pathway in the fall of 2026. CREATE is committed to working with our partners at the City of Anniston to provide this incredible opportunity to students in our region. More details to come!

In addition to aviation, two other pathways will make a debut:

• Information Technology (Computer and Network Installation, Maintenance and Repair)
• Transportation, Distribution & Logistics