Texas
Workforce Success Stories
CUSTOMER VIDEOS
CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORIES
WORKFORCE EXPERTS
Texas Workforce Investment Council
Lee Rector, Director
1100 San Jacinto Blvd, Suite 100
Austin, TX 78701
KEY WORKFORCE PRIORITIES
1.
Meeting workforce system and agency performance objectives through coordinated planning, execution of initiatives that produce accountable results, and providing programs and services which are relevant and responsive to the evolving needs of the ultimate customers of the system: employers, current and future workers.
2.
Collaborating to achieve seamless pathways and career options for Texas’ future workforce, and communicating education, training and career opportunities to build value, awareness and participation in system programs and services.
3.
Finding opportunities to leverage and align resources to optimize system effectiveness and efficiency and deploying integrated programs and services that allow all Texans to participate through a coordinated and efficient statewide system.
FAST FACTS
- Job growth in Texas remains strong, having added 383,100 jobs from the beginning of June 2013 to the beginning of June 2014. This represents the largest such increase in 17 years. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas projects that Texas will remain at or near the top of job growth among states for the duration of 2014. The Texas unemployment rate for June 2014 stood at 5.1 percent, down from 6.3 percent in June 2013. At just shy of 13 million workers, there are more Texans in the workforce than at any other time in the state’s history. Since the recession, Texas has added more jobs than any other state, with over 1.2 million added since 2009. Despite this strong job growth, a significant percentage of young workers are currently underemployed relative to their skills. The opportunity for these youth to step into Texas’ new jobs will be essential both for their future and for maintaining a strong Texas workforce and economy.
- Texas continues to experience a fundamental shift in the industries driving its economy and its employment. Heavy manufacturing has been replaced by advanced technologies and related advanced manufacturing. Aerospace and defense industries continue to grow. The sectors of mining, manufacturing, real estate, and finance and insurance have all seen large proportional increases in relative contribution to Texas’ GSP over the last decade. In terms of employment, growth has occurred across all sectors, with greater growth in health care, accommodation and food services, professional services, and mining.
- The Texas population will age substantially over the next decade across all racial and ethnic groups. The Office of the State Demographer has estimated that by 2040, the percentage of Texans over the age of 65 will have doubled from its current level. As the baby boom generation retires, companies are replacing tenured workers who possess valuable institutional knowledge with a younger, more diverse workforce with lower overall educational and credential attainment levels. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Texas’ population to have been about 26.5 million in 2013, an increase of 5.2 percent from 2010. Nationally, population grew by only 2.4 percent over the same period. This growth presents Texas with opportunities due to its relatively younger and diverse population, as well as challenges created by lower educational attainment trends across the younger population.
- The state’s economic growth, combined with these demographic changes, will necessitate an increased emphasis on ensuring that all youth complete high school and continue into some level of postsecondary education and training. This challenge is exacerbated in Texas in that more than 3.8 million Texans are eligible for adult education services. Based on a study conducted by the Council in 2010 with the Office of the State Demographer, if current trends hold, that number will grow to almost 7.9 million by 2040. While these numbers do not signal a demand for that level of service, they are indicative of the fact that - in the face of current and future economic and demographic drivers - for Texas to remain strong in job and GDP growth, all Texans must be in the educated- and skilled-employment pool where employers look to find talent.
LOCAL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARDS
Find local Workforce Development Boards in this state
INNOVATION VIDEOS
INNOVATION STORIES
WORKFORCE TESTIMONIALS
"When I first heard there was a program that would allow me to obtain my GED and Emergency Care Attendant certificate at the same time for free, I thought it was too good to be true. Boy, was I mistaken!"
"Thanks to Project GROW's flexible class schedule I was able to attend class and also work. Beyond the flexible class schedule, I thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from the additional tutoring available and the pace of the lesson plans. Project GROW did not just meet my expectations, it exceeded them. I would highly recommend Project GROW to anyone who wants to have a better paying job and brighter future."
"Thanks to Project GROW's flexible class schedule I was able to attend class and also work. Beyond the flexible class schedule, I thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from the additional tutoring available and the pace of the lesson plans. Project GROW did not just meet my expectations, it exceeded them. I would highly recommend Project GROW to anyone who wants to have a better paying job and brighter future."
Bertha Vasquez
“I would be remiss if I failed to take the opportunity to say thank you as an expression of my gratitude for the training and supportive services secured through the WIA program. As I graduate, I am truly grateful! I feel tremendously blessed."
"As a single parent, I know that with this training I will be better able to provide for my family as well as invest in my own community. I especially want to thank the staff at the Workforce Center for their congenial attitude and undying willingness to encourage and support the participants of the program. The staff is an eloquent example as to your overall mission. They go above and beyond their duties to ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction.”
"As a single parent, I know that with this training I will be better able to provide for my family as well as invest in my own community. I especially want to thank the staff at the Workforce Center for their congenial attitude and undying willingness to encourage and support the participants of the program. The staff is an eloquent example as to your overall mission. They go above and beyond their duties to ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction.”
Shawnette
“Thank you so much for the insight you provided during the time I have worked with you. This has been a difficult time of transitions for me. The positive attitude and outlook you always provided me helped keep my spirit motivated and positive. When I thought I could not move on you provided assistance in a form that I didn’t even know existed. This allowed me to move on with a new hope on many occasions. In closing, thank you so much for the belief in me you demonstrated on a daily basis throughout the entire process. This allowed me to being once again to believe in myself. Your professionalism throughout the entire process has been and continues to be a shining example. Thank you for a new lease on life.”
