The “Texas HireAbility Job Fair” will connect Texans with disabilities with local job opportunities.
Category: In the News
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Council OKs contract for new academy to train ‘workforce of the future’
City Council on Thursday approved a $5 million contract with Workforce Solutions Capital Area to start and manage the Austin Infrastructure Academy for 12 months. In addition to job training, the contract with Workforce Solutions includes the provision of child care services and job placement assistance for mobility and infrastructure related positions. Council approved the contract unanimously with Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison absent.
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City Council approves food plan, cadet housing study, construction contract, more items
Austin City Council held a meeting Thursday to go over multiple items focused on various aspects of city improvements.
The City Council also approved an interlocal contract with Workforce Solutions Capital Area to create the Austin Infrastructure Academy. The Academy will provide workforce training, and childcare services, plus job placement assistance for Austinites in construction, skilled trades, and operations.
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City approves $5M to bolster planned Austin Infrastructure Academy
The yet-to-open Austin Infrastructure Academy just received a $5 million boost from the city.
The funding — which will be overseen by Workforce Solutions Capital Area and go towards workforce training, childcare services and job placement assistance — was approved by the City Council during its Oct. 10 meeting.
In March, the council directed city staff to lay groundwork for a program to bolster workforce development in the city, which resulted in the Austin Infrastructure Academy.
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Job fairs seeking workers with disabilities, manufacturing experience
Workforce Solutions Capital Area is helping to promote a pair of career fairs to help connect local workers with prospective employers, including those looking to fill thousands of manufacturing and skilled trades jobs needed locally in the coming decade.
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City of Austin to hold job fair geared toward people over 50 years old
The City of Austin invites all individuals 50 years old and up to join their community job fair Wednesday, Sept. 25.
The 50+ Community Job Fair hosted by the City of Austin will provide community members with opportunities to meet multiple City of Austin departments and employers.
The job fair will take place Wednesday Sept. 25 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Workforce Solutions Capital Area North building.
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High cost of child care slammed for draining economy of profits and workers
Workforce Solutions, which is part of the Texas Workforce Commission, provides workers with professional development and child care assistance. According to the agency, it served more than 4,900 children in 2023, including at licensed centers and homes.
Still, it had over 5,000 children on its waitlist as of July, Lawson said. Roughly 40% of the waitlist was comprised of children under the age of three, indicating a higher demand for child care for infants and toddlers. In a survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 55% of parents who voluntarily left their jobs did so when their kids were two years old or younger.
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From the Desk of Tamara Atkinson–How to Find a Job
For Tamara, workforce development is personal. When she moved back to Austin in 1999 (after attending undergrad at The University of Texas), she had only $800 in her bank account, temporary housing and a baby with life-threatening health problems. Tamara needed a job to help her survive. The first company that gave her a chance was Workforce Solutions Capital Area (formerly WorkSource). The opportunity at Workforce Solutions Capital Area, the nonprofit responsible for the data-driven planning, oversight, and evaluation of workforce development activities in Austin-Travis County, changed the trajectory of her life.
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Austin Community College to offer free job training to some unhoused individuals
Around two dozen people experiencing homelessness will soon have the opportunity to become certified in heating and air conditioning maintenance through free training offered by Austin Community College (ACC).
The training is the result of a partnership between ACC and Urban Alchemy, the nonprofit that manages the ARCH and 8th Street shelters. Twenty-five people living at those shelters will be able to participate in the HVAC training program.
According to Urban Alchemy, two representatives for ACC approached the ARCH eight months ago to start the program. After much collaboration between the shelter, Workforce Solutions and ACC, the free program is expected to launch this month.
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Pflugerville Public Library launches new online platform for skilled trades industry
There are thousands of jobs in fields like construction, transportation and utilities that need to be filled in Central Texas.
Pflugerville Public Library hopes to chip away at that number through its new online platform called Blue Career.
According to Workforce Solutions Capital Area, this area will need about 10,000 more workers annually to deliver on various projects in the works.