°®¶¹´«Ã½ and Huntsville Utilities Launch Underground Utilities Workforce Training Program
Huntsville is a city on the move. As Alabama’s largest city and one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the Southeast, Huntsville’s skyline, neighborhoods, and infrastructure are expanding at a remarkable pace. Behind every new development, every road, every building, every neighborhood, is a network of underground utilities that makes modern life possible. And behind those utilities are the skilled workers who install, maintain, and protect them. At °®¶¹´«Ã½, we believe it is our responsibility to help build that workforce. Today, we are proud to celebrate a major step toward that goal.
Introducing the Underground Utilities Course
°®¶¹´«Ã½, in partnership with Huntsville Utilities, is proud to announce the successful completion of our inaugural Underground Utilities Course. A three-week, intensive, hands-on workforce development program designed to connect local high school graduates with the certifications and real-world skills needed to enter the utilities trades.
The program, developed jointly by °®¶¹´«Ã½’s Workforce Development team and Huntsville Utilities, offers participants industry-recognized certification in underground water and gas operations. For young people in our community, that credential is more than a piece of paper — it is a direct pathway to a living-wage career with long-term stability and growth potential.
To mark the occasion, °®¶¹´«Ã½ hosted “Dig the Line,” a live heavy equipment demonstration held in our Outdoor Classroom and back lot. Graduating students took to the field operating heavy equipment and demonstrating the technical skills they have built over three weeks of rigorous instruction. It was workforce development in its most tangible form: young people, hard hats on, doing the work.
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A Partnership Built for This Moment
This program did not happen by accident. It was born out of a shared recognition between °®¶¹´«Ã½ and Huntsville Utilities that our region faces a growing shortage of skilled utilities workers, and that the time to act is now.
Huntsville Utilities Vice President of Employee Engagement Dr. Harry Hobbs, speaking on behalf of CEO and President Wes Kelly, captured the spirit of the partnership well: “This is a great collaboration with °®¶¹´«Ã½, where we can set up an underground water and gas operations course to help folks that are interested in this type of work so they can get a level of certification. Hopefully in the future, if there’s some open jobs at Huntsville Utilities or other local utilities, they can be more competitive.”
That is exactly what industry education partnership looks like at its best: a utility company investing in the next generation of its own workforce, and a college delivering the training that makes it possible.
For °®¶¹´«Ã½, this partnership reflects a broader institutional commitment. As Dean of Workforce Development/CTE Doug Brazier put it: “Huntsville is experiencing a period of tremendous growth, and °®¶¹´«Ã½ is growing right alongside it. Programs like the Underground Utilities Course are a direct reflection of our commitment to meeting the evolving demands of this region. By partnering with industry leaders like Huntsville Utilities, we are ensuring that our students don’t just earn credentials, they earn a real pathway into the careers that are building the future of our city.”
The Students at the Center
Workforce development statistics and partnership announcements matter. But what matters most are the people whose lives these programs are designed to change.
Treveon Nelson, a recent Columbia High School graduate and program participant, put it simply: “It is giving me an opportunity to find myself a stable job. Something that will last me quite a while, as someone who is creative with their hands, more so than anything else.”
Treveon spent the program spotting excavators and working traffic control, real tasks, performed under real conditions, guided by industry professionals. He and his fellow graduates leave this program not just with a certification, but with hands-on field experience and the confidence that comes with having done the work. Their stories are the reason °®¶¹´«Ã½ exists.
What This Means for Our Region
For partners in industry, government, and economic development, the implications of programs like this go well beyond one cohort of graduates. Huntsville’s infrastructure needs will only grow, and the utilities sector is foundational to everything else our region is building. Ensuring a sustained pipeline of trained, certified workers is not just a workforce issue. It is an economic development issue, a public safety issue, and a community resilience issue. °®¶¹´«Ã½ is uniquely positioned to meet that need.
The Underground Utilities Course is one program. But it is also a proof of concept, a demonstration that when °®¶¹´«Ã½ and industry partners work together, we can move quickly, train effectively, and deliver real outcomes for real people.
A Note on Safe Digging
As Huntsville’s growth continues and summer project season gets underway, °®¶¹´«Ã½ and Huntsville Utilities are also reminding all residents and contractors: call 811 before you dig. Whether you are installing a fence, planting a tree, or beginning a construction project, contacting Alabama 811 at least two full business days in advance ensures underground utility lines are marked for free — preventing service disruptions, costly damage, and serious injuries. Visit for more information.