MOBILE, Alabama -- As Alabama lags behind the nation with its unemployment rate, Lt. Gov Kay Ivey on Monday promised that more jobs were on the way.

"We have to keep on doing what we're doing because we are sure going in the right direction," Ivey said.

Ivey made the remarks during a tour of the Austal USA shipyard. The shipyard is building 10 joint high speed transportation ships and 12 littoral combat ships for the U.S. Navy at a cost of more than $5.6 billion. All the ships are set to be built by the end of 2019.

The Alabama Power Foundation announced on Monday it will give $140,000 in classroom grants to fund "First Class" pre-K programs across the state to improve environments for early learners. Alabama's First Class pre-K programs are administered by the Alabama Department of Children's Affairs and are available in all of Alabama's 67 counties.

At the Alabama Humanities Foundation 40th anniversary luncheon on Tuesday, Mark Crosswhite, CEO of Alabama Power, said the grants will go well beyond the purchase of classroom materials. 

"More than ever, the best and brightest of our young people want to know what [Alabama] can offer them in terms of arts, culture, entertainment, and food before they decide where they will settle down. We need to cultivate this creative class of young people who can reshape a city, who are artists and entrepreneurial thinkers, to stay and make their homes in Alabama," Crosswhite said.