Finding Talent

Candidate Screening & Testing

We offer a variety of nationally-certified skills assessments to help you gauge job candidates. Topics include: occupation-specific skills, interests, aptitudes and work ethics/values.

Offered at no charge, each assessment includes a consultation which is designed to gather information about your hiring needs and to identify an assessment package that is right for you. Our certified vocational evaluation specialist will then administer the assessments and evaluate the results for you.

For more information contact Business Solutions.

Fidelity Bonding

The fidelity bonding service helps at-risk job applicants get and keep a job. TWC and the Workforce Development Boards offer free fidelity bonding services to reduce employers’ concerns about hiring at-risk job applicants who cannot be bonded through other sources. For this bonding, Travelers Property Casualty Insurance Company issues an insurance policy that protects the employer against employee acts of dishonesty such as larceny, embezzlement, and theft.

Program Features

• Coverage is free for six months. After six months, bonding becomes the employer’s responsibility.
• Coverage is usually issued in the amount of $5,000.
• There is no deductible.
• There are no forms to fill out and no processing.
• Coverage can be activated almost immediately.

Eligibility

Applicants eligible for fidelity bonding services include:

• Ex-offenders, including individuals with records of arrest, probation, or any police record
• Applicants with poor credit histories, including bankruptcy
• Veterans dishonorably discharged from the military
• Public assistance recipients
• Applicants with a substance abuse history
• Disadvantaged youth who lack a work history
• Anyone who is declined fidelity bonding through the commercial bonding system

A fidelity bond will not provide coverage for self-employed individuals looking for a performance bond, surety bond, or contract bond. Fidelity bonds cover only a specific employer-employee relationship, which is demonstrated by withholding income and social security taxes. A fidelity bond does not provide coverage for poor workmanship, job injuries, or work accidents.

Interested in Learning More?

Either the job applicant or the prospective employer can request bonding through the Business Solutions team. If the applicant is eligible, bonding coverage is effective immediately following certification or on the applicant’s first day of work once certified.

The bond will be mailed to the employer and is issued for six months. After that, employers may purchase a transfer bond for an additional six months at the insurance company’s discretion. Eventually, the employee may become permanently bondable.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit

WOTC is a federal income tax benefit administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for employers who hire individuals from specified target populations, including veterans. WOTC reduces a business’s federal tax liability, serving as an incentive to select job candidates who may be disadvantaged in their efforts to find employment.

More information on WOTC

Qualifying for WOTC

Employers are eligible for a tax credit when hiring individuals with specified barriers to employment identified as target groups. TWC will verify for employers which target group applies. Tax credits currently are available for hires in the following categories:

Fair Chance Hiring

City of Austin’s Fair Chance Hiring Ordinance

The City of Austin’s Fair Chance Hiring Ordinance, which took effect April 4, 2016, aims to reduce recidivism and unemployment and increase re-integration for qualified job applicants with criminal histories. The law places restrictions on certain private employers on when they can ask about a job applicant’s criminal history and how that information can be used.

For more information on the City of Austin’s ordinance and how it might affect your hiring process:

• Visit the City of Austin’s Fair Chance Hiring webpage
• Call 512-972-FAIR (3247)
• Email: fairchancehiring@austintexas.gov
• Click here to submit a question

Hiring Assistance

Employers who hire qualified applicants in the Austin/Travis County area with a criminal record may be able to utilize:

• Work Opportunity Tax Credits (WOTC) – A federal income tax benefit administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for employers who hire individuals from specified target populations, including ex-felons
• Fidelity Bonding – Free insurance protection services to reduce employers’ concerns about hiring at-risk job applicants who cannot be bonded through other sources

To learn more about these programs and services, please contact Business Solutions.

Labor Market Information (LMI)

At no cost, we can provide the following labor market information:

• Employment and unemployment statistics
• Wage information
• Average weekly wage
• Average wage per occupation
• Wage comparison to other areas in the state and nation
• Top paying occupations
• Number of individuals in the civilian labor force and their occupational experience
• List of the major area employers
• List of industry sectors in Travis County and the percentage of industry composition
• Demand/growing occupations in Travis County
• Layoff statistics
• Detailed Census data

Each month, we also post reports on the current labor market conditions for Capital Area (Travis County) and the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The reports contain such information as the unemployment rate, the average weekly wage, and employment by industry.

• Austin-Round Rock MSA
• Capital Area Workforce Development Area (Travis County)
• Please contact Business Solutions to request labor market information or a customized report.