Greater Waco’s job market grew by 20% in the last decade, and it is projected to need thousands of new workers in the next one, including many “midskill” occupations like electricians, nurses and mechanics.
But will Waco workers have the skills and education to seize those opportunities?
That’s a question that some of the area’s key workforce leaders will tackle Wednesday in a discussion moderated by The Waco Bridge.
The panel is part of the all-day “Future of the Texas Workforce” symposium at Texas State Technical College.
The symposium, organized by The Texas Tribune in partnership with the Bridge, runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at TSTC Waco’s new Construction Technologies Center, 10 Bolling Drive. You can RSVP for the live event here. It will be livestreamed at texastribune.org and available to view the following day online.
The symposium brings in leaders and experts from around the state to explore how Texas is building the systems, partnership and programs to develop its workforce for the economy of the future.
Waco Bridge Editor-in-Chief J.B. Smith will moderate the local panel beginning at 12:30 p.m. following a free box lunch.
Panelists are:
- Mike Reeser, TSTC’s statewide chancellor and CEO,
- Jessica Attas, CEO of Prosper Waco, and
- Rick Tullis, founder of Capstone Mechanical, former Midway Independent School District trustee and unopposed candidate for McLennan County judge.
All three panelists have been directly involved in efforts to bridge the skills gap for Waco-area workers.
According to Prosper Waco research, some 78% of middle-income jobs in McLennan County in 2022 required education beyond high school. But more than 60% of the county’s workforce lacked that education, limiting their economic mobility.
Local workforce efforts have focused on creating pathways to those middle-skill jobs. It starts in public schools with career and technical education and dual credit programs that allow high-schoolers to earn associate degrees at TSTC and McLennan Community College. Efforts also include short-term courses that allow students to earn industry-specific certifications.
Team effort
Tullis was a founding board member of the Greater Waco Advanced Manufacturing Academy, a magnet school within Waco ISD that offers technical training to the students in the region. He has also been co-chair of the advisory committee for the WorkSITE, the hands-on job training center that TSTC opened last year in the Texas Central Industrial Park. He is a mechanical engineer who founded Capstone Mechanical, a heating and air conditioning company.
Reeser, who oversees the 11-campus technical college system based in Waco, led the pioneering efforts 13 years ago to tie TSTC’s funding to student job placement outcomes. Based on TSTC’s success, the Texas Legislature in recent years has adopted that funding model for community colleges.
Attas heads Prosper Waco, a “community impact” nonprofit that coordinates community efforts around education, healthcare and economic mobility. The agency created UpSkill Waco to work with TSTC and MCC to provide certification programs to allow workers to advance in their careers.
Other notable speakers Wednesday include keynote speaker Roberto Coronado, senior vice president and economist with the Dallas Federal Reserve; experts from the public policy think tank Texas 2036 and state Rep. Pat Curry, R-Waco.
Disclosure: Texas State Technical College and McLennan Community College have been financial supporters of The Waco Bridge, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in The Waco Bridge’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
