“There's a clear need to scale up our workforce,” Travis County Judge Andy Brown said. “... The Austin Infrastructure Academy is taking a holistic approach, offering customized training and certification programs that align with the employers’ and job-seekers' needs.”
Explained
Dubbed a “one-stop-shop,” the academy will provide a new hub for job seekers that integrates recruitment, job training and wraparound service support for prospective employees in Austin’s mobility and infrastructure sector, said Tamara Atkinson, Workforce Solutions Capital Area CEO.
“It's really about revising or updating the workforce development model for how people find out about jobs and career training, and then how they get connected to those opportunities,” she told Community Impact.
Unlike traditional training, this will guide job seekers before they enroll in training or employment to make “informed, sustainable career choices.”
Atkinson explained that the Austin area is slated for an estimated $25 billion in capital improvement projects—which includes projects like the light rail, I-35 expansion, airport expansion and convention center redevelopment, among others—making mobility and infrastructure the region’s second-largest industry sector.
“Austin's infrastructure workforce is already more than 220,000 people strong, and we know that the number will continue to expand rapidly, with 10,000 new skilled job opportunities opening each year,” Atkinson said, with forecasts estimating a more than 80% increase by 2040.
If these new jobs remain unfilled, the community faces the risk of these large-scale projects not being completed on time or on budget, she said.
To meet the industry's needs—a roughly 4,000 person increase annually—Workforce Solutions Capital Area partnered with the city of Austin, Travis County, Austin Community College and other local industry leaders.
The Austin Infrastructure Academy is being initially funded through previously allocated city dollars. As part of its $5.9 billion budget for fiscal year 2024-25, Austin officials vouched for $5 million in order to launch the academy.
In October, council members approved a one-year contract with Workforce Solutions Capital Area to provide workforce training, child care services, and job placement support for careers in mobility and infrastructure.
While Workforce Solutions Capital Area will serve as the administrator, Austin Community College has allocated $200 million in 2022 bond funding to build a physical space for the academy on a new 76-acre campus in Southeast Travis County—just next door to the Austin airport and minutes from the Tesla Gigafactory.
“We're going to serve as the physical front door for the infrastructure academy,” ACC Chancellor Russell Lowery-Hart said, highlighting the initiative's tagline, “Make a living making Austin.”
Access to the academy’s services is currently being supported by Workforce Solutions Capital Area at their career centers and at the ACC Riverside Campus.
More about the program
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said the new job creation pipeline places a focus on the “person” and meets an individual where they are experiencing barriers.
He emphasized that the initiative focus was on more than just jobs created, but rather on the quality of that job and supporting the person filling that job.
“If [job seekers] have transportation issues, we're going to help. If they have child care issues, we're going to help,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said. “We want to make sure they get the network, not just a job application. The network they need to be supported.”
Brown added that the county has been working closely with Workforce Solutions in order to bolster child care affordability and accessibility with funding from the voter-approved 2024 child care tax rate increase of $0.025 per $100 property valuation.
He hopes the first phase of additional child care programs will be rolled out by the start of the next school year in August.
What they’re saying
John Stoker said he attended the academy launch and job fair in search of a better opportunity beyond his current job in car repair.
“If you're a job seeker, it doesn't seem like there are a lot of resources [on the internet] to find what’s out there,” Stoker said.
He clarified that being able to chat with employers and ask questions has helped him explore new career possibilities.
Karen Campbell, AECOM vice president and Austin metro executive, said programs like the Infrastructure Academy, help raise awareness about career opportunities for students and those switching careers who may have limited exposure or knowledge of the range of industry opportunities.
“We're always needing to hire and cultivate the next generation of engineers, scientists and planners,” Campbell said. “We're always looking for the opportunity to get more [individuals] interested in thinking about a career in engineering, science, planning, community relations, project management—so many different career paths within infrastructure.”
The academy programs will include a variety of learn-and-earn opportunities in construction, skilled trades, fleet maintenance and repair, frontline mobility and operations and supervision. These five occupational groups were identified for high-demand and career growth in a workforce study commissioned by Workforce Solutions.
Jobs within the construction and skilled trade sector include but are not limited to:
- Carpenters
- Electricians
- HVAC technicians
- Plumbers and pipe fitters
- Sheet metal workers
- Welders
- Transit operators
- Mechanics
- Engineers
- Frontline mobility
- Fleet repair and maintenance
- General construction
- Skilled trades
- Operations and management
The academy has received additional funding from Texas Mutual Insurance Company and Google.org, the charitable arm of Google LLC, to continue program expansion outside of the city’s initial funding allocation.
“We’re just formulating the right time and way to ask the private sector to participate. But this will be a public-private partnership ultimately as we get going.” Atkinson told Austin City Council members during a March update.
The program currently has enough funding to serve around 300-400 individuals; however, Atkinson said the program is expected to scale over time.
At this point, funding will also support child care for around 100 children.
“This is one of those programs where, right now we are not seeing what this is going to be but I believe this is a transformational investment in our local workforce. ... We’re creating careers, not just jobs. And I think that is the beauty of this program,” council member Jose Velasquez said March 21.
Anyone interested in the program or wishing to find more information can visit the Workforce Solutions Capital Area website, visit one of the career centers or call 512-485-3792.
