The one and only newspaper insert that I've read cover to cover - even the ads!

I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the Go Build Alabama newspaper insert that was published in the Sept. 5 edition of The Mobile Press-Register is the only newspaper insert that I’ve ever read, word-for-word, completely from cover to cover.

From someone who’s worked in newspapers for over ten years, that ought to tell you something.

The insert was a special publication of the Alabama Construction Recruitment Institute in partnership with The Birmingham News, The Montgomery Advertiser, The Huntsville Times and The Press-Register.

To coincide with Labor Day (Sept. 6), the insert was meant to launch the Go Build Alabama campaign, an effort to encourage Alabama residents to learn a trade.

According to the insert, a workforce crisis is looming in Alabama. As more and more baby boomers, that is, those born between 1946 and 1964, retire from the construction trades, a critical shortage in skilled workers will arise in Alabama within the next five to 10 years. One study showed that for every four people who retire from the construction trades, only one person enters the workforce to replace those workers. As a result, a decade or so from now, there won’t be enough workers around to do all of the work that will need to be done.

The poster child for the campaign is a familiar face to many – Mike Rowe, the host of the popular Discovery Channel show, “Dirty Jobs.”

In addition to a feature story about Rowe, the insert included information about a number of trades and skilled occupations. They included carpenter, millwright, electrician, pipefitter, plumber, boilermaker, mason, sheetmetal tech, HVAC tech, road builder, equipment operator, painter, welder and insulation installer and asbestos remover.

The insert also included a letter from ACRI’s executive director, Tim Alford and feature stories about a man who started out in an entry-level job and worked his way to the top, a father and son team that learned a trade together, women in the workplace and the SkillsUSA program for young people.

I was especially interested in the information the insert had about apprenticeships, which are designed to provide on the job training while connecting apprentices with potential employers. Unfortunately, there was little information in the insert about how to land an apprenticeship.

For more information about the Go Build Alabama effort, visit www.gobuildalabama.com.