“The auto industry is not dying. It’s relocating, and we’re right in the middle of it,” Rich Hammond told the board of directors of the Floyd County College and Career Academy on Tuesday.

Hammond is the project leader of Auto Alley, a 13-county workforce development program to help prepare job seekers for positions in the automotive supply industry. Hammond said the Honda manufacturing plant in Lincoln, Ala., the Kia plant expected to go into full production this year in West Point and the Volkswagen plant under construction in Chattanooga are not only large employers but will generate jobs for layers of suppliers in the region.

Hammond said 42 job profiles for employers have either been completed or are under way through the Auto Alley program. The profiles help employers identify the specific job skills they need in workers. The state’s Work Ready Certification testing program matches job seekers’ skills with the job profiles. Individuals receive bronze, silver, gold or platinum certification.

Hammond said 80 percent of automotive-related jobs in Auto Alley require at least a high school diploma.

Though Auto Alley is focused on that industry, all employers can benefit from Work Ready job profiles and certification, Hammond said. “Non-automotive industries also need high-tech and leadership skills.”

Frank Pinson, chief executive officer of the College and Career Academy, told the board that the school will be host to the state House of Representatives’ Higher Education Committee on Monday.

“We want them to see what we’re all about … (and that) when we make decisions locally, we try to do something that will benefit the students and the community.”

Pinson said a team has been assembled to attend a two-day Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies conference in Michigan next month. The Ford Foundation’s program is intended to work specifically with career academies on project-based education, he said.

Local officials who will be attending include Pinson, Lynn Plunkett, superintendent of Floyd County Schools, and Al Hodge, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce.