Reviewed by: Lisa Battles
How young professionals prepare for management + more Huntsville business news
Reading time: 5 minutes
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Huntsville is attracting a bevy of young professionals, and most of them are looking for ways to advance within their companies and in their careers.
This month, in addition to some news on local business, we take a look at how young professionals are preparing for leadership and managerial roles in the workforce, and their employers’ roles in that process.
Where do employers find + train good managers?
When young professionals enter the work force, the idea–more often than not–is to ascend to a managerial role within the company. And on the employers’ side, mentoring and growing a young employee to a management role has usually been the goal.
While some reports indicate those trends are changing for many young people, the concept of what it means to manage is, as well. We spoke with Dr. Justin Scott, Assistant Professor of Management at the University of North Alabama Sanders College of Business & Technology about it, and he offered some interesting insight.
“In the past, many decisions were made assuming managers had to provide the right answers. Given the ease with which information can be accessed now, managers need to focus more on asking the right questions.”
Dr. Justin Scott, UNA Sanders College of Business & Technology
Scott said the SCOBT actually addresses this by facilitating space where management students learn how to ask important questions so the end of their current knowledge can be stretched.
Addressing the change in workplace culture
With so many changes in workplace culture, namely with the prevalence of hybrid work, how are professionals getting the skills they need for management roles?
Contemporary work models have certainly changed how employees are managed, for employees and employers alike.
Scott said research supports that employees can get their work done without constant supervision. Additionally, with remote work removing the need to commute, employers can attract top talent outside immediate geographic areas.
“Those advantages come with tradeoffs though, particularly regarding ethical conduct. Most importantly, out-of-office work has illuminated areas where pre-existing unethical tendencies—for employees and businesses—pose even greater threats and challenges.”
Dr. Justin Scott, UNA Sanders College of Business & Technology
How contract work affects workforce development
In the government contracting sphere in Huntsville, many employees work on a contract/temporary basis, which places the impetus for skill enhancement on the worker.
Scott said traditional workplace development strategies posit that developing employees generally bodes well for the organization, because the employee enjoys self-actualization and the organization benefits from upskilled workers.
In the government contracting sphere in Huntsville, many employees work on a contract/temporary basis, which places the impetus for skill enhancement on the worker.
“To earn contracts, workers need to showcase credentials and skillsets that may need to be acquired before they can qualify for contract-bidding.”
Dr. Justin Scott, UNA Sanders College of Business & Technology
HudsonAlpha wins 2025 Amazon Web Services grant
Earlier this month, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology announced it has been selected as a winner of the 2025 Amazon Web Services (AWS) Imagine Grant.
HudsonAlpha was named a recipient in the Children’s Health Innovation Award category, which recognizes highly innovative, mission-critical projects accelerating children’s health innovation using advanced cloud services.
HudsonAlpha will receive a combination of funding and AWS computing credits, along with implementation support from technical specialists. Proposals were evaluated based on several criteria, including the innovative and unique nature of the project, impact on mission-critical goals, and clearly defined outcomes and milestones.
The organization will use the grant to further develop its medical analysis tool to help healthcare professionals and researchers better understand rare diseases that affect children and their families.
“This year’s AWS Children’s Health Innovation Award recipients are truly inspiring. These leading pediatric institutions are using AWS technology to transform how we care for children worldwide.”
Allyson Fryhoff, Managing Director, Global Healthcare and Life Sciences at AWS
Since the launch of the Imagine Grant program in 2018, AWS has awarded more than $16 million in unrestricted funding, cloud computing credits and technical expertise to more than 140 nonprofit organizations.
Unemployment rate in Huntsville stays below state average
Despite a steady rise in unemployment nationwide over the last several months, the Huntsville metro has seen a slight drop in its jobless rate, staying below the state and national average.
Alabama’s unemployment rate dropped from 3% in July to 2.9% in August, keeping the state jobless rate well below the national rate of 4.3%.
Huntsville and most of its neighboring cities reported unemployment rates below the state rate, with Madison County and surrounding counties also posting jobless rates below state and national averages.
Here’s where unemployment rates stand in Huntsville and surrounding cities:
| City | August 2025 Unemployment Rate | July 2025 Unemployment Rate | August 2024 Unemployment Rate |
| Athens | 2.1% | 2.3% | 2.8% |
| Decatur | 2.3% | 2.3% | 3.1% |
| Florence | 3.1% | 3.5% | 3.9% |
| Huntsville | 2.4% | 2.6% | 3.1% |
| Madison | 2.0% | 2.2% | 2.7% |
Look for our monthly North Alabama business news roundup this time next month, brought to you by the University of North Alabama Sanders College of Business & Technology.
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