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Category: Newsroom

  • Tamara Atkinson named “I Am Austin Woman” at 2024 Woman’s Way Awards

    Tamara Atkinson named “I Am Austin Woman” at 2024 Woman’s Way Awards

    Our CEO Tamara Atkinson was honored with the most prestigious award at the 9th Annual Woman’s Way Business Awards, presented by Austin Woman Magazine.

    The award was judged not only on Tamara’s leadership over her career but also how she, with direction from our board members, have created a company with staying power and a plan to grow in the coming years. These milestones include:

    • Launching the Hire Local Plan to: 1) increase skilled local talent while better defining the region’s capacity for training, 2) improve income for locals by creating an affordability index, and 3) grow payrolls for local businesses.
    • Launching the Workforce Mobility Industry Sector Partnership (alongside Mayor Watson, Travis County Judge Brown and partners ATP and CapMetro) to supercharge the co-creation of an action plan to bring thousands more residents into mobility and infrastructure jobs in our region for the foreseeable future.
    • Leveraging our proprietary boots on the ground intel and data-driven approach to analyzing how our region is growing, what workforce is needed to support that growth and how to bridge those gaps.

    At a time of disruption and opportunity in workforce development, Workforce Solutions Capital Area, through Tamara’s leadership, are raising awareness of key industries, connecting students to post-secondary education, and training local workers for career advancement.

  • Ex-Indeed employee talks about the challenges of finding new tech job

    Ex-Indeed employee talks about the challenges of finding new tech job

    IT Business Consultant at Workforce Solutions Capital Area Katherine Cariño said the industry is not hiring as much at the moment.

    “It’s definitely really tight right now for the tech industry. We’re seeing much more limited opportunities available with job postings and employers,” Cariño said. “Basically, it seems like they’re leaning out and trying to do more with less.”

    Workforce Solutions Capital Area encourages tech workers to broaden their job search and look at other industries like healthcare or finance.

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  • Local organizations, schools work to combat nursing shortages in Central Texas

    Local organizations, schools work to combat nursing shortages in Central Texas

    A handful of Austin-area organizations and educational institutions are working to combat projected nursing shortages with special programs, partnerships and scholarships.

    Ashley King, WSCA’s director of healthcare partnerships, said that in Austin:

    • 16,000 nurses are currently employed
    • An additional 4,000 will be needed in the next 10 years

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  • Austin eyes grant to support home-based child care providers

    Austin eyes grant to support home-based child care providers

    Austin city leaders are working to build out a grant program to help provide financial assistance for certain home-based child care providers, according to a city memo released last week.

    Austin Public Health and the city’s Economic Development Department are recommending the new grant program be enacted, with the following eligibility criteria:

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  • City of Pflugerville funds workforce training for residents

    City of Pflugerville funds workforce training for residents

    In partnership with Workforce Solutions Capital Area, the city of Pflugerville is providing funding to support tuition-free job training through the end of the year for up to 20 eligible residents.

    The initiative is being funded by the city’s Community Development Block Grant, a federal grant the city receives annually. The money is intended to support affordable housing and suitable living environments as well as expand economic opportunities, according to city documents.

    Through the workforce training program, individuals will receive tailored training “to equip them with the necessary skills for in-demand occupations in industries quickly growing in Pflugerville, such as advanced manufacturing,” the release said.

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  • Central Texas child care providers struggle to hire staff

    Central Texas child care providers struggle to hire staff

    Many child care providers are having a hard time filling positions, putting extra pressure on the workers they already have.

    Local advocates and government leaders are working to help places hire qualified workers.

    “We aim to promote the recruitment and retention of early childhood professionals,” said Cristela Perez-Riddel, program director for the Child Care Services Program at Workforce Solutions Capital Area.

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  • Central Texas employers eye new talent pool — laid-off Tesla workers

    Central Texas employers eye new talent pool — laid-off Tesla workers

    Tamara Atkinson, CEO of Workforce Solutions Capital Area, said in a statement that the Austin metro’s advanced manufacturing and transportation sectors have added about 5,000 jobs over the past 12 months.

    “We have seen a steady increase in job openings in the Austin metro, especially in advanced manufacturing,” said Atkinson, whose organization provides job training and assistance. “Manufacturers across Central Texas are eager to hire people with these skills.”

    Still, that doesn’t mean all of the laid-off Tesla employees will quickly find new jobs or have the skills that are viewed as in high demand in the metro. For them, job training and assistance agencies, such as Workforce Solutions and Skillpoint Alliance, say they stand at the ready.

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

    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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  • ‘Hire Local’ initiative helps with skills gap, connects people with in-demand jobs

    ‘Hire Local’ initiative helps with skills gap, connects people with in-demand jobs

    According to Workforce Solutions Capital Area, there are more than enough jobs but not enough skilled workers in Austin.

    The organization is trying to address the city’s skills gap through its Hire Local initiative. It released its 2023 annual report highlighting the initiative’s impacts.

    “That is designed to close the gap by connecting local people with the skills needed in high demand jobs, high paying jobs, so they can afford to stay here in Austin,” said Chair for Workforce Solutions Capital Area Board Mark Sherry.

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  • Central Texas training programs drive surge in employment and wage growth, report finds

    Central Texas training programs drive surge in employment and wage growth, report finds

    More Central Texans are enrolling in training programs that boost wages and fill gaps in the region’s labor force, an April 17 report from Workforce Solutions Capital Area found.

    The 2023 Hire Local Report analyzed job placement and income increases of those who completed training programs in the Austin metro from October 2022 through September 2023.

    The report also found that more Central Texans are utilizing training programs compared to previous years. Workforce Solutions served 17,186 students in 2023, 3,591 more than in 2022. Further, nursing graduates almost doubled in the past five years, from 596 in the 2018-19 school year to 1,076 during the 2022-23 school year.

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