Registration Open for Culverhouse LIFT Job Skills Training Program

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Free job skills and financial literacy training sessions will soon be available to West Alabama adults, including veterans, and teens through The University of Alabama’s business college.

Culverhouse LIFT, or Learning Initiative and Financial Training, will begin classes for its fall term Monday, Sept. 10. Registration for the fall 2018 session is open until 5 p.m. that day.

Sponsored by the Culverhouse College of Business and the Culverhouse School of Accountancy, LIFT’s sessions include: computer skills, bookkeeping, GED classes and professional development.

Created in 2014, LIFT uses student volunteers from within the business college to work with community participants in a classroom setting.

“It’s a one-on-one tutoring relationship between the student and the participant,” said Culverhouse accounting lecturer and LIFT program coordinator, Lisa McKinney, a certified public accountant. “Because it’s so intimate, the speed of learning is astronomically high, as opposed to a regular class, because every minute is for you.”

Culverhouse LIFT operates in nearby Alabama towns and cities such as Greensboro and Birmingham, high schools and housing communities in the Tuscaloosa area, as well as the regional VA Medical Center. There are two sessions a year within the program: fall and spring. During each session, participants and the student volunteers meet for nine weeks for 75 minutes per class.

“I learned about [Culverhouse] LIFT through Central High School, the school I work at,” said Linda Horn, a Tuscaloosa resident and LIFT participant. “[LIFT] taught me things that I didn’t know, and I can now apply those skills to my everyday life. The QuickBooks and Finance classes help me budget and save money. And I enjoy the young men and women that teach our class. I learn a lot from them.”

Last year, the program started operations at the Bibb Correctional Facility in Brent. At the facility, inmates who are about to be released learn how to use computers, answer interview questions, and create resumes.

Both the community and students have found success through LIFT. The program is student-run with more than 350 class leaders and volunteers. With the program, students are able to take what they learn in the classroom, such as management skills and critical thinking, and apply it to the training sessions.

“Year after year, we’ve been able to grow LIFT into a critical resource for area residents to gain valuable job and personal finance skills,” McKinney said. “Through the experiential learning component of LIFT, our student volunteers learn how to become compassionate and effective business leaders, a capability that will serve them well once they graduate and start their careers.”

Get Involved

To get involved, contact McKinney at 205-348-6679 or lmckinne@culverhouse.ua.edu. All donations to LIFT are used to directly benefit community participants, funding resources that include student support, laptops and computer program licenses.

The program is also seeking speakers who can share business insights. For information on program support, contact Dr. Rich Houston at 205-348-8392
or rhouston@culverhouse.ua.edu.