This is the final installment of a three-part series exploring Texas 2036’s new report, The Next Generation of the Texas Miracle.
Over the past decade, Texas has aligned K-12 education, higher education, and workforce policy around a shared goal: preparing more Texans for family-sustaining careers. Sustaining that progress, however, depends on more than strong schools and colleges. It also requires better coordination and better information about which pathways are producing results.
Texas has taken important steps to strengthen that connection.
In 2021, the Legislature formally established the Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative, bringing together the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), and the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) to set shared goals for postsecondary readiness, credential attainment and workforce outcomes. Together, these agencies are working to better align education with the needs of Texas employers.
Recent legislation has also grown opportunities for career-connected learning through apprenticeships, internships, industry-based certifications, and other work-based learning experiences. At the same time, lawmakers have authorized the Tri-Agency Initiative to better coordinate Career and Technical Education (CTE) funding across agencies, reducing barriers and helping more students access high-quality career pathways.
Why better data matters
As Texas increasingly funds education based student outcomes, access to high-quality workforce data becomes even more important. Better employment and wage data can help policymakers identify which programs are producing strong workforce outcomes, where labor market gaps exist, and how education investments can better meet regional workforce needs.
The ongoing Sunset review of the Texas Workforce Commission presents an opportunity to strengthen these data systems. As laid out in the report, modernizing workforce data and improving coordination across education and workforce agencies can help ensure Texas continues building pathways that connect students to meaningful careers.
Looking Ahead:
Texas has already made significant progress aligning its education and workforce systems around student success. Continuing that work will require keeping a focus on outcomes, making data systems stronger, and ensuring education investments continue to prepare Texans for the opportunities ahead.
Together, these efforts help create a more connected education-to-workforce system — one that can adapt as student needs, workforce demands and Texas’ economy continue to evolve.
Read the full report, The Next Generation of the Texas Miracle, to explore how Texas connects K-12 education, higher education, and workforce policy to strengthen the state’s future workforce.
