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Category: Mobility, Infrastructure & Skilled Trades

Workforce leaders talk how to grow skilled trades pipeline to 10,000+ workers annually

During the most recent Urban Land Institute Austin session, Tamara Atkinson and other leaders in workforce training shared the realities of the local economy, which will need more than 10,000 new skilled workers every year for roughly a decade. Those workers will help to carry out construction and production on major projects such as the Interstate 35 reconstruction, the Project Connect mass transit system, the expansion of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and the assorted semiconductor manufacturing plants across the region that collectively represent tens of billions of dollars in investment.

Several times, talk turned to the city’s recent establishment of a new infrastructure training academy, which is intended to address the growing need for construction workers throughout the area.

Panelist Nestor Ho, chief legal officer of Silicon Labs, said the current employment imbalance shows there are 62,000 jobs available for 52,000 people who are classified as unemployed.

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April 25, 2024
Infrastructure academy to train skilled workforce looking for child care solutions

Childcare options are set to be incorporated in an infrastructure academy which will train skilled workforce members.

The City of Austin has partnered with Austin Community College and several others to create the infrastructure academy, where they are training the next generation of the construction workforce to help with major projects across the city such as the I-35 expansion and Project Connect.

Representatives from one of the partners, Workforce Solutions, said they are researching what people need as they plan what the program will look like.

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March 26, 2024
City of Austin partners with Austin Community College to create Infrastructure Academy

The new academy should help train thousands of individuals to help with construction.

Watch the video.

March 26, 2024
Austin Infrastructure Academy regional workforce program launches at ACC Riverside

An initiative to train thousands of Central Texans in career paths tied to the region’s tens of billions of dollars of new infrastructure projects on the horizon launched March 22 at Austin Community College’s Riverside Campus.

Local leaders gathered at ACC Riverside March 22 to mark the start of the Austin Infrastructure Academy, a workforce recruitment and training collaborative formed in advance of years of major development around Greater Austin.

The infrastructure academy’s creation has been in the works for months through partnership between local officials, educators and representatives from infrastructure industry, workforce development and labor groups.

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March 22, 2024
Austin to launch Infrastructure Academy to bolster city’s workforce

Austin City Council gave the green light March 7 to launch an Infrastructure Academy to connect residents with jobs as Austin embarks on $25 billion in capital projects.

The program aims to help fill thousands of skilled trades jobs with local talent as Austin widens I-35, expands the airport, renovates the convention center and adds a light rail to its transportation network.

Austin will also need to ramp up its recruiting efforts and improve coordination with existing organizations, such as Workforce Solutions Capital Area, Skillpoint Alliance and Austin Community College to get local workers trained and hired, the study found.

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March 13, 2024
With $25B in projects on tap, new Austin infrastructure academy gets green light

A plan to establish a new Austin infrastructure academy is taking shape, with the aim of ensuring the city’s workforce is equipped to meet the demands placed upon it by $25 billion in transportation-related projects over the coming years.

City Council approved a resolution March 7 that directs city staff to begin laying the groundwork for the new school and training network. The list of transformational projects on tap for Austin includes a 10-mile light rail route, a new concourse at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and the expansion of Interstate 35 through the center of the city.

Workforce Solutions Capital Area, a nonprofit workforce development organization, also is set to play a central role in the founding of the new institution.

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March 7, 2024
Austin creates academy for construction workers as city faces historic amount of infrastructure

Thousands of workers are needed for big construction projects happening all around Austin.

Mayor Kirk Watson, along with the support of several Austin council members are pushing for an infrastructure academy to be a training hub for the city.

They hope a partnership with Workforce Solutions will help get construction workers, skilled trade individuals and the project managers they need to build the infrastructure.

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March 7, 2024
Austin’s Workforce Solutions Capital Area receives 2024 ‘Trailblazer’ Award from the National Association of Workforce Boards

Austin/Travis County workforce board recognized for role in establishing Central Texas’ first-ever Mobility Industry Sector Partnership

AUSTIN, Texas–Workforce Solutions Capital Area, the non-profit organization that serves as the leadership and governing body for the Austin/Travis County area workforce system, has received national honors in the highly competitive National Association of Workforce Boards 2024 Awards, which recognize exceptional initiatives by workforce organizations and their partners.

Winner of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Trailblazer Award for efforts put into projects, strategic planning, and unique labor and demand forecast, WFSCA received merit for its role in establishing the first-ever Mobility Industry Sector Partnership with local transit authority CapMetro and Austin Transit Partnership in 2023.

“I’m incredibly proud of our team and our partners for supporting us in creating and implementing comprehensive workforce solutions to connect thousands more local people to jobs and careers in the burgeoning mobility and infrastructure sector,” Tamara Atkinson, CEO of Workforce Solutions Capital Area, said. “I also want to thank Mayor Kirk Watson and Travis County Judge Andy Brown for co-chairing the Mobility and Infrastructure Leadership Group and their efforts to provide local people with life-long career opportunities.”

Since the Mobility Industry Sector Partnership was initiated last year, WFSCA and partners have established a policy leadership group and a working industry group, which have engaged stakeholders and led focus groups, analysis and a comprehensive research study. The study, ‘Building a Robust Labor Force to Deliver Generational Infrastructure,’ provided crucial insights into the sector by examining the existing capacity of Austin’s mobility and infrastructure workforce, forecasting its growth trajectory until 2040, and presenting solutions that exist both nationally and within the region to fortify the workforce development ecosystem.

The WIOA Trailblazer Award will be presented this month at The Forum 2024 in Washington, D.C., a conference specifically for workforce development leaders, businesses and educators.

“I’m thankful for the training providers, community-based organizations, and job creators who have come together in our Mobility Industry Sector Partnership to innovate, inspire, and impact workforce development in ways that truly make a difference,” Mark Sherry, board chair at Workforce Solutions Capital Area, said. “It truly feels like we are setting the pace with this work and blazing a trail forward.”

For more information about Workforce Solutions Capital Area, please visit www.wfscapitalarea.com.

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About Workforce Solutions Capital Area

Workforce Solutions Capital Area is the non-profit organization that serves as the leadership and governing body for the Austin/Travis County area workforce system. They are responsible for the planning, oversight, and evaluation of workforce development activities in the Capital Area. Learn more at WFSCapitalArea.com and follow along on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

March 6, 2024
Austin mayor announces new infrastructure academy to build construction workforce

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson announced Wednesday plans for a new infrastructure academy to help build a local pipeline of workers for major construction and transportation projects in the region.

It’s tied to an agenda item that the city council will take up March 7.

Workforce Solutions Capital Area is one of the organizations working with the mayor on this initiative. Chief Executive Officer Tamara Atkinson said this would be the first academy of its kind in the country.

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February 28, 2024
Desmond Roberson is Helping to Literally Build Austin’s Infrastructure
Mobility and infrastructure is an industry in Central Texas that encompasses more than roads, buses and trains. There’s also the construction and skilled trades workers necessary to build and maintain these systems. Desmond Roberson is one of these needed workers and he is not just building a career in Austin—he’s helping to literally build Austin.

Desmond has lived in Austin all his life. Today he is a member of Sheet Metal Workers Local Union No 67. Working in Austin’s skilled trades industry wasn’t his original plan but today Desmond is satisfied with a career that lets him work with his hands.

“I started with the Sheet Metal Workers in 2019,” Desmond said. “I was in the construction program at American YouthWorks so this kind of work wasn’t new to me. At the time, I was out of school and had been trouble a couple times and was working a temp job. When I was let go, I remembered I could always come back to American YouthWorks for help.”

Desmond did ask for help, which is where he learned about the Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3).
- This nationally recognized program introduces students to the different building trades and teaches them the skills necessary to successfully apply for a registered apprenticeship, debt-free, over a two-week training time.
- Desmond enrolled in the May 2019 class, which was held at Local 67 in partnership with Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union 286.
As the training days passed, Desmond gathered many positive impressions of work in the skilled trades: “I liked how you are not just in a class. In the MC3 program, you do what you have to do and stay on task—and you will get a job. You receive an opportunity to elevate your life,” he said.

“You learn what each trade is and what the work is like, so you can determine which is the best suit for you. You have the option and freedom to choose where to branch off into after graduating” Desmond said.

“I chose the sheet metal union because my MC3 class was in their union hall. I saw those workers and how they were like a brotherhood and thought that was a good suit for me,” said Desmond.

Desmond joined the Registered Apprenticeship program with Local 67 in August 2019 and began working in the union’s shop. “In this trade, you go from the shop to the field,” he said.

“At first, I was making ductwork from scratch, taking sheet metal and making bins. Now I am working downtown on Colorado and Sixth streets. I think it’s amazing. In the field, I install the ducts in the units. I can see the whole process of the project.”

For young people who are unsure what to do next in life, like Desmond once was, he offers some advice.

“I grew up around a lot of people who made mistakes growing up. When I post work videos on social media, they see me and wonder how I am able to do this. I tell them to get with the MC3 program. I want to lead people to this program. If you have the will to better your life, the program is there for you,” Desmond said.

If you are interested in enrolling for job training, whether in the skilled trades or another growing industry in Austin, visit our Job Training page to get started.
February 21, 2024