Tri-Agency Finalizes Workforce Development Goals As Record Employment Levels Continue

3 years ago

Texas is in its sixth straight month of setting record employment levels with the Texas Workforce Commission recently announcing the addition of 62,800 nonfarm jobs in April 2022. To sustain this job growth, our state must have talented workers to fill those jobs.

Through House Bill 3767 (87-R), the Texas Education and Workforce Alignment Act, our state education and workforce systems can be organized to meet employers’ current and long-term workforce needs. The Tri-Agency — composed of the Texas Education Agency, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and Texas Workforce Commission — has made progress in implementing HB 3767 by establishing the state’s first-ever workforce development goals and strategies.

Texas spends $100 billion every year on its education and workforce systems. A cohesive set of goals will maximize the use of these dollars by improving the state’s ability to serve its diverse population and regional economies. Earlier this year, Texas 2036, in partnership with several business and education organizations, submitted comments to inform the development of the workforce development goals.

In response to the received comments, the Tri-Agency has finalized the goals with a focus on the following:

Providing pathways to employment in high-demand occupations, including the completion of a postsecondary credential of value for 60% of Texans aged 25-64 by 2030;
Ensuring that Texans are supported throughout the education-to-workforce pipeline from early childhood education to postsecondary education to the workforce; and
Improving state agency data and infrastructure to empower education institutions, training providers, decision-makers and other stakeholders, and everyday Texans so that state, local, and personal education and workforce goals can all be achieved.

These goals will help ensure that every Texan, regardless of where they are in their educational or career journeys, can access the training they need for a good-paying job that provides economic security and mobility.