Gov. Robert Bentley met with small business owners Tuesday at the Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce as part of his Road to Economic Recovery Tour.

The purpose of the tour is to visit communities and discuss local economic conditions and state-level efforts to attract more jobs to Alabama.

“I usually like to visit with those who help create jobs and are interested in more job creation,” said Bentley.  “That’s the small business individuals.”

During the roundtable Bentley touched on a number of issues, including the state’s college and career readiness plan, and how those issues impact small businesses.

Bentley said small business owners can take an active role in helping shape the state’s workforce by reaching out to the state’s College and Career Ready Task Force to share information about the types of skills that are needed in today’s workplace.

Bentley said educators can then use that feedback to develop new programs that will train students in the skills that are needed by employers.

“We have 1,000 jobs out there right now,” he said. “We have more available jobs right now than we’ve had in years. The jobs are there if we can fit the people with the jobs.”

Bentley emphasized the state’s efforts to reintroduce vocational training programs into schools.

“By coordinating our workforce development efforts, we can give more students a seamless transition from the classroom to the workplace,” he said. “The work of the task force can also help more students understand the variety of good careers that are available.”

Bentley also said the state plans introduce later this summer a small business advisory council made up of small business owners to help the state address issues that impact the creation and operation of small businesses.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our state,” he said. “As a government we need to do everything we can to help them be successful.”