With a rapidly expanding economy, Texas leads the nation in job growth, but faces higher unemployment and poverty rates than the U.S. as a whole. The state’s workforce development leaders say connecting employees to training programs, child care services and continuing education are crucial to keeping pace with growth.
Tamara Atkinson, CEO of Workforce Solutions Capital Area, a nonprofit organization that helps Travis County residents find career training and job opportunities, said Texas needs to act fast to prepare workers for the future.
“If our job is to find and prepare and support the workers, we need to recognize the additional thing — the support that they need to be successful in their skill training and on the job,” Atkinson said at a Texas Tribune event Wednesday morning.