The Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative, which is led by the Texas Education Agency, Texas Workforce Commission and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, recently met in San Antonio. This workforce initiative, comprised of five commissioners, was created by Governor Gregg Abbott to focus on the following items:
- Researching how to make college more affordable and help students enter the workforce more quickly with marketable skills, through targeted and collaborative public and higher education initiatives.
- Identify local workforce needs and develop workforce development models that address these needs with a particular eye toward career and technical education, science, technology, engineering and math.
- Evaluate current web-based ways to connect students and parents with information about in-demand jobs and career paths.
- Identify gaps in services for veterans, so that they may more seamlessly re-enter the workforce.
- Ensure all strategies advance job creation, workforce development and the 60×30 plan. The 60x30 plan is a higher education initiative Abbott announced in November that aims to ensure 60 percent of the state’s workers between the ages of 25 and 34 achieve a postsecondary education by the year 2030.
Last Tuesday’s meeting, which was coordinated by your Chamber and held at the Geekdom Event Centre, provided employers, educators and community based organization leaders the opportunity to discuss with all five commissioners the best practices in the area along with concerns for growth and expansion of these programs.
“You’re doing a lot of exciting things here,” said Andres Alcantar, Chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission. “We realize we have to work together effectively, not only in San Antonio but across the state, to achieve our goals,” Alcantar confessed.
Many in the audience were concerned about the need for increased attention and resources for educator and counselor training. With the passage of House Bill 5 in 2013 and the increasing demands for career guidance and educators trained to teach career and tech courses, funding is scarce. There is increased concern about how ISDs and community colleges will expand these existing programs with fewer resources and funding.
“We don’t anticipate any significant increases in funding so we’re going to have to find ways to do better with the resources we have,” said Raymund Paredes, Commissioner fort the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Highlighted during the 2-hour summit, community members explained SA Works and its focus on connecting educators, employers and students. The mission of SA Works is to increase community-wide knowledge of the career opportunities available in San Antonio and the pathways to getting to those careers.
The Tri-Agency Workforce Imitative will continue on its statewide tour into the summer with a final summit planned for September 2016 in Austin.
For more information on the Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative you can visit:
www.tea.texas.gov;
www.thecb.state.tx.us, or
www.twc.state.tx.us 