Alysia GreenAutomation Alley recently promoted Alysia Green to the position of director of talent development. Formerly the manager of talent development, Green is responsible for directing all Automation Alley talent initiatives, including Automation Alley’s Technical Talent Development Program, IT Career Pathways program and modeling, simulation and visualization (MSV) initiative.
Green has been an Automation Alley employee since 2005, when she joined as project coordinator. She was promoted to the position of workforce development supervisor in 2009 and manager of talent development in 2010. Here, she answers a few questions about her new role.
Q: How is your new position different from your previous position?
A: I am now the primary point of contact for all Automation Alley workforce development and talent initiatives, including the new Technical Talent Development Program. I have added responsibilities as an employee supervisor. I’m also part of the management team at Automation Alley, meaning I will report directly to Executive Director Ken Rogers and will have a role in guiding the strategic direction of Automation Alley. I will also retain all of my former responsibilities, including managing Automation Alley’s relationships with the local workforce development and education communities and serving as staff liaison for the Automation Alley Education and Workforce Committee.
Q: What’s the significance of your position within Automation Alley and in the greater economic development landscape?
A: It addresses the needs that our members are experiencing. Now that we’ve come out of the recession, talent is an overwhelming challenge. There’s a misconception that we should not have such high unemployment because there’s such a skilled workforce shortage — and the key word in that is “skilled.” Generally speaking, the current pool of candidates does not possess the skills that employers are looking for. That’s the purpose of having people who are focused on workforce or talent development — to look at these job opportunities from the 1,000-foot view, identify skill gaps and then work with our higher education institutions and workforce development agencies in bridging those gaps.
Q: What part of your new position are you most excited about?
A: This is an exciting time to be involved in this type of work. I have the opportunity to be a part of providing solutions and to work with so many other great companies and organizations that are part of the solution as well. We’re all striving for the same thing; it’s just that everyone’s role is a little different. The workforce development community of Southeast Michigan is providing best practices for the rest of the country to follow, especially given the amount of collaboration that is going on. And we’re getting noticed for that.
Q: You’ve been employed at Automation Alley for seven years now. How have things changed since you started?
A: Wow! Not only has our organization grown — our membership and staff have nearly doubled since I arrived — I think we’ve grown into our skin. We’ve pulled together a great team of people who work collaboratively and represent the eight counties of Southeast Michigan evenly. Through our actions, I feel the region has realized that we truly are great workforce, business and economic development partners. And our reputation shows that.
Q: Any final thoughts?
A: I love what I do, I enjoy the people I work with and I’m amazed by the people that I cross paths with daily through my work here at Automation Alley. It’s like the trifecta. There aren’t too many people who can say that.
Contact the Automation Alley Resource Center at 800-427-5100 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
