Summit Events

Expanding Workforce Opportunities in Central Texas

There exists an imbalance between the skills people have and the skills employers need. With an un-employment rate of less than 4%, employers have challenges finding workers and are often forced to recruit from outside the area to fill the best-paying jobs.

Thanks to everyone who attended the October 25th Expanding Opportunity Summit. Participants joined in a conversation with representatives of the private sector, educational institutions, area workforce boards and community leaders to gain a better collective understanding of our region’s workforce needs and identify steps that we can take to ensure:

  • workers have the skills they need to succeed; and
  • employers are able to connect with local talent in filling available job opportunities.

Outline of the Summit Agenda

Setting the Stage

Workforce Solutions for the Capital Area and Workforce Solutions for the Rural Capital Area shared the results of recent industry assessments to highlight high need and high demand careers fields in the 5-county region.

Private Sector Perspective

CFAN, a Hays County based company, is a manufacturer of composite fan blades for Boeing airplanes and a leader in advanced composite technology. Half of their engineering personnel graduated from Texas State University. They have strong connections to the local school district and Texas State University to help them meet their workforce needs.

School-Based Career Programs

We will learn about the Career and Technical Education course offerings for Del Valle ISD, Leander ISD and San Marcos ISD. Career and technical education programs offer a sequence of courses that provides students with coherent and rigorous content. CTE content is aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in current or emerging professions.

We will also hear about the P-TECH an education initiative created by IBM to prepare young people with the academic, technical and professional skills required for 21st Century Jobs and ongoing education. P-TECH represents the best of what public-private partnerships can look like, with students taking high school and college coursework simultaneously and engaging in industry-guided workforce development.