Category: Mobility, Infrastructure & Skilled Trades

With $25 billion in infrastructure and mobility projects on tap over the next two decades, the Austin area will have 10,000 new jobs in those sectors per year for the next 17 years. That total is one of the findings of an analysis shared last week with local political and business leaders during a summit on how to address the area’s mobility and infrastructure needs.

The report from Austin-based consulting group CivicSol was one of the primary points of discussion during last week’s Moving Forward summit that was focused mainly on the workforce development needs for the many projects about to launch in Austin. That list is topped by the expansion of Interstate 35, Austin’s light rail construction and the expansion of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

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10,000. That’s how many new mobility and infrastructure jobs it may require to complete upcoming capital projects in Central Texas — annually.

In a summit last week, local political and transit leaders unveiled the results of Central Texas’ first mobility workforce study. As the Austin area embarks on major developments like Project Connect and the I-35 expansion, here are three other takeaways from the findings:

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As populations continue to boom in Austin and San Antonio, both cities’ mayors shared interests and focus on expanding mobility and infrastructure workforce opportunities — and possible rail connections between the two cities.

On Friday, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg spoke at Workforce Solutions Capital Area’s Moving Forward: Mobility & Infrastructure Workforce Summit. During their conversations, both cities’ mayors said they’re eyeing infrastructure funding opportunities to expand rail services between the two Central Texas metropolitan areas.

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Central Texas leaders are promoting the region’s unique workforce opportunities and potential for greater partnership along the I-35 corridor as the Austin and San Antonio areas ramp up major infrastructure programs that will stretch on over the years ahead.

During an Oct. 12-13 summit hosted by Workforce Solutions Capital Area in Austin, officials promoted the first-ever mobility workforce study conducted for the region and shared their thoughts on how Central Texas employers and residents can take advantage of what’s to come.

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Findings from Austin’s first mobility and infrastructure workforce study released Thursday will help guide the Central Texas area as it gears up for a slew of large-scale mobility projects in development and on the horizon.

Over the next two decades, the study found the Austin metro area will increase jobs within the mobility and infrastructure sectors by nearly 97,000 positions, up 39%. However, when factoring in major projects in development — including the Project Connect light rail system, the Interstate 35 project near downtown and the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport expansion — that job creation jumps 81% to 181,000 new jobs, said Tamara Atkinson, CEO of Workforce Solutions Capital Area.

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A new group of community leaders is launching large-scale changes within mobility and infrastructure industries in central Texas. The goal is to connect local people with thousands of jobs and careers. Sarah Garza, director of Mobility Industry Partnerships for Workforce Solutions Capital Area gives us insight.

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Local officials and transportation entities announced Aug. 17 the next steps for a Central Texas workforce plan aimed at getting thousands of locals into the infrastructure jobs pipeline that’s expected to flourish over the coming years.

Members of the Mobility and Infrastructure Leadership Group include Watson, Travis County Judge Andy Brown, other city and county officials, local labor and education leaders, and construction industry representatives. Capital Metro, the Austin Transit Partnership and the jobs group Workforce Solutions Capital Area are supporting the initiative.

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Workforce Solutions Capital Area has partnered with the city and Travis County, as well as Austin Transit Partnership and Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, to form a leadership group focused on linking local residents to jobs from the many transportation and infrastructure projects taking place in the coming years.

With Project Connect, light rail, the Interstate 35 reconstruction and the expansion of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on tap, the group’s goals include studying future skills needs for those projects, finding ways to scale workforce training programs, identifying obstacles for job seekers and creating a plan for building the workforce to fit infrastructure needs.

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As work on the huge transit overhaul known as “Project Connect” begins, project managers are looking for a lot of help.

Project Connect isn’t the only big project in the works, which is why the Austin Transit Partnership brought on experts like Cesiah Kessler from nonprofit Workforce Solutions Capital Area to partner with schools and government agencies to fill roles.

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