The big picture
The Texas Workforce Commission, a state agency that supports workers and job training, has opened up $6 million in grant funding for employers to train current employees.
According to a news release, the program aims to help local businesses looking to enhance their workforce skills, such as those looking to:
- Expand their operations
- Introduce new technologies
- Improve workflow and efficiency
- Launch new products or services
- Reorganize in a way to avoid layoffs
What you need to know
The deadline to apply for Upskill Texas is June 30.
To be eligible, businesses must have 100 or more employees located in Texas and provide a 50% employer match, which can include trainee wages and benefits. Eligible entities include private, nonprofit, for-profit businesses and public health care organizations.
Employers can also pick a partner to manage the grant on their behalf, such as a community college, technical school, private training company or local workforce group.
Projects must range from $150,000 to $500,000. Up to $3,000 is available per trainee, and the training must be 100% technical.
Those interested can find more information and application forms on the Upskill Texas website.
What else?
The Austin-area branch of TWC, Workforce Solutions Capital Area, also launched the Austin Infrastructure Academy in March, a “person-centric” career development program.
Dubbed a “one-stop-shop,” the academy provides 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.
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.
She said the region currently has about 220,000 skilled workers, but expects to need 10,000 more each year for the next 15 years—an increase of more than 80% by 2040.
“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,” Atkinson previously told Community Impact.
