The city of San Antonio has been selected to participate in the Good Jobs, Great Cities Academy, hosted by the National League of Cities and the U.S. Department of Labor.
According to a May 19 news release, the academy will help San Antonio develop innovative and scalable solutions that train workers to obtain quality, high-demand jobs in infrastructure, clean energy and advanced manufacturing.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg said the partnership between NLC, the Labor Department and San Antonio’s Ready to Work program will be mutually beneficial.
“The National League of Cities has recognized our initiatives like Ready to Work, SA Tomorrow, the Climate Ready Action and Adaptation Plan and our strong employer and community engagement as models for other cities to follow,” Nirenberg said in a statement. “The Good Jobs, Great Cities Academy affords San Antonio an opportunity to share best practices and to learn from other regional leaders.”
The release states that cities in the Good Jobs, Great Cities Academy will capitalize on the chance to engage with NLC, the Labor Department, other federal agencies, national leaders and their peer cities to:
- Identify and convene employers and other stakeholders within a targeted subsector relating to infrastructure, clean energy or advanced manufacturing;
- Identify and address gaps and/or shortcomings in their education and workforce ecosystems, allowing them to develop new initiatives or scale existing successful initiatives;
- Implement strategies that ensure infrastructure, clean energy and advanced manufacturing career opportunities are high-quality and support long term economic vitality in communities;
- Be better positioned to address structural issues that many groups of workers face, including youths, women, workers of color, Indigenous workers, workers in rural communities, justice impacted individuals, veterans, and parents, in accessing good jobs;
- Learn how to effectively leverage and allocate funds and other resources to support goals for addressing workforce needs;
- Strengthen policy and practice by intentionally building connections to supportive services for workers, and connecting to the care economy, including childcare, healthcare and mental health as key supports for workers.
The release states as part of the academy, the mayor will lead a cross-sector partnership of public and private members, including city departments, Alamo Colleges District, CPS Energy and San Antonio Water System as well as several local partner businesses, nonprofits and educational institutions.
