Last Updated:December 25. 2007 10:18PM
Published: December 26. 2007 3:30AM

National Alabama Corp. has received close to 4,000 pre-employment applications, and they are still coming.

Alabama Industrial Development Training, or AIDT, is handling pre-employment job training and screening for the company before the actual hiring process begins.

National Alabama will soon seek to fill various job positions, including manufacturing personnel and maintenance technicians. Company officials say they are considering applicants who are at different levels of experience and skills.

The benefit of the pre-employment process is that it allows company officials to look at their pool of applicants, applicants' skills, and see which individuals best fit the company's needs.

"We're very pleased with the number and the quality of the applicants, and we anticipate to continue accepting applications," said Felix Phillips, project manager with AIDT.

In early 2008, orientation will begin that allows qualified applicants to preview a Spring 2008 training program to find out more details about National Alabama and the jobs available.

Applicants who are deemed qualified to participate will be contacted in writing by AIDT with orientation information.

Applicants should not panic, however, if they don't immediately hear back from the company about pre-employment recruiting, Phillips said.

"It could be several weeks or months before you get to go through training," Phillips said. "We're trying to emphasize that it's a long process; we're going to try to notify people when and if they're disqualified or if they progress to the next stage."

The pre-employment training can only accommodate so many people at a certain stage in the process, he said.

During that process, after applicants attend a training orientation, those who are qualified will be contacted in writing and scheduled for interviews that will be conducted by North Alabama and AIDT personnel.

"At the end of the orientation, we ask them if they are still interested in pursuing the job," Phillips said. "It gives us an idea of qualified people and what is their interest level."

After the interviews, candidates will be notified in writing by AIDT if they've been selected for pre-employment training.

Out of the approximate 1,800 jobs at the plant, 600 will be jobs needing individuals with welding skills.

"There's more nonwelding jobs than welding jobs," said Peter Earle, communications and public affairs counsel with National Steel Car Limited, the parent company of National Alabama. "We're looking for a lot of different people with a lot of different skill levels."

The three production associates' job areas with pre-employment training do involve some form of experience in a trade like welding.

For several weeks, pre-employment trainees will undergo 60-80 hours of simulated on-the-job training. After that time, those who graduate training will be placed in a candidate pool for possible future employment with National Alabama.

For those who don't qualify for pre-employment training, Phillips said there will be opportunities for individuals to sharpen their skills by engaging in programs offered by Northwest-Shoals Community College. Individuals are then encouraged to reapply for pre-employment.

"For some people who are not selected, what we would like to be able to do is direct them to different programs in the area that would allow them to improve their skills to get back into the application process with North Alabama Corporation, or they can use their skills somewhere else," Phillips said.

The pre-employment process will be continually taking in recruiting classes for National Alabama from early 2008 until late 2010, when all 1,800 employees are expected to be onboard at the plant.

Those interested may visit the Shoals Career Center on Montgomery Avenue in Sheffield to apply, or apply online at jobs.aidt.edu/nac.

Kenda Williams can be reached at 740-5720 or kenda.williams@timesdaily.com.