Category: Briefings & Performance Updates

At Workforce Solutions Capital Area, our work is rooted in creating opportunity for local people and strengthening the workforce that drives our region forward. Our 2022 Impact Report offers a snapshot of that work in action — from helping job seekers gain skills and connect to quality careers, to supporting employers, families, and students across Central Texas. We’re excited to share this report as a reflection of what we accomplished together and the momentum we continue to build.

Read the 2022 impact report.

Key takeaway: People of color have been disproportionately impacted by unemployment, and was exacerbated by the pandemic.

Key findings:

• In Texas, in the first quarter of 2021, while unemployment rate was at 6.9%, Black unemployment was at 11.2% and Hispanic at 8.0%. Meanwhile, White unemployment was 4.9%¹
• In the Austin metro, in August 2021, when unemployment was 3.8% overall, Black unemployment was 6.0%, Hispanic at 4.1%, and White at 3.4%.²
• Also, unemployment claimant data shows that 69% (or about 110,000 people) of the 158,000+ unemployment claimants in Travis County since March 2020 have less than an associate’s degree. These claimants are disproportionately black or Hispanic.

Key ways WFS is helping address these issues…

• Workforce Solutions Capital Area is behind the Hire Local Plan, the next iteration of the Austin metro Community Workforce Plan which aims to improve economically disadvantaged residents’ access to better economic opportunities. Input from our community is ensuring the plan is inclusive and collaborative; empowers residents to more efficiently match employers’ skills needs; and successfully prepares economically disadvantaged residents for higher-skill jobs.
• WFS has seen success with equitable outcomes for our training programs. From 2016–2018:
  • The average annual wage increase for an adult completer of our Current Workforce Training (where 88% of clients served were people of color) is substantial at more than $15,000/yr or approx. $7/hr more. The average wage after exit is $32,324. This program is designed for adults who are low income or laid off to enable them to enter the workforce at a self-sufficient wage.
  • The average annual wage increase for a youth completer of our Emerging Workforce Training (where 90% of clients served were people of color) is substantial at more than $6,700/yr. This program is designed to assist in-school, at-risk youth with barriers ages 16-24 in obtaining their high school diploma/GED and enter post-secondary education or the workforce.

Bottom line: Workforce Solutions Capital Area supports a more equitable and inclusive skills training system to reach and engage with underserved, under-skilled, and under-represented populations. When individuals engage with us, our goal is to help them attain the most skills possible to earn the most possible.

Sources:
1. Economic Policy Institute
2. Burning Glass – Labor Insight

Read our report for curated research and trends on stable housing and workforce outcomes.

Key takeaway: Research suggests the outcomes of stable housing efforts can be improved when combined with workforce development efforts. Through workforce services, individuals/parents who are experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity can have more success in job training and employment.

Read more

In 2020, Workforce Solutions Capital Area became the first responder for employment.

In a matter of days, a declining unemployment rate that had lasted for years spiked into the double digits due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Workforce Solutions quickly pivoted to a virtual space to assist all impacted members of our community—students, workers, parents, businesses and more—in a safe and effective way.

The Austin metro area is now one of the fastest recovering in the nation, with many industries experiencing job growth. Our hard work and our partnerships help to make it possible.

Read the report

This Year Two report serves as a reminder of the success of the MCWP in the first two years of this multi-year project prior to unexpected impact of the pandemic, but it also affords an opportunity to think clearly through the mechanisms of change of the MCWP, to consider how and why the MCWP continues to expand by including additional training programs and colleges, the regional role of upskilling employees and why it fits so firmly within the scope of work of the MCWP, and to reflect on progress the MCWP has addressed in racial and ethnic disparities.

This report is organized into four sections. The first section describes the ongoing work of the implementation of the MCWP. The following section discusses the outcomes of the workforce system portion of the MCWP, first overall, by demographic characteristics, and then by agency. The next section discusses the role of upskilling in the region, its role in the MCWP, and outcomes for Year Two upskilling completers. The final section provides conclusions and recommendations, assessing the extent to whether set goals are being met while also thinking through the implications of meeting or not meeting these goals.

Read more:

• Year Two Report 2018-2019
• Impact Summary

Leveraging Boards as Leaders in Reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) showcases how America’s workforce boards have leveraged the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to improve operations and better serve businesses and participants.

The publication highlights best practice cities like Austin, Texas where mayors and workforce development leaders have successfully collaborated with officials in local, state, and federal agencies to advocate for and implement effective workforce development policies to prepare cities for the future of work.

Click here to read the full report.