Workforce Education Overview
Equipping the Texas Workforce
As our nation recovers from the impacts of the global pandemic, Texas has a historic window of opportunity to strengthen the critical link between education and workforce readiness to improve the lives of more Texans.
The Texas labor market has rebounded and surpassed pre-pandemic job growth and employment levels. Yet many Texans remain either unemployed and under-employed and need to reskill or upskill to rebuild their economic footing.
We are raising the bar for higher education to quickly align strategies and funding to help provide what our state and its people need right now. This is a key focus of our statewide strategic plan for higher education, Building a Talent Strong Texas.
Through emergency funding provided by the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funds, higher education institutions are expanding offerings of high-value, high demand credentials that help Texans land better jobs with more competitive wages.
The economic opportunities across Texas are unrivaled. Our state has a rich entrepreneurial climate and leads the nation in job creation. Fifty of the nation’s Fortune 500 companies call Texas home. Our work ensures higher education in Texas increases employment opportunities and income for individuals, creates a deeper talent pool for employers, and aligns skills with the jobs the workforce demands.
Resources
Career & Technical Education
Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) Act grant funds are administered for the purpose of improving career and technical education in Texas.
Reskilling Grants
Reskilling Grants to institutions support displaced Texas workers who need to reskill or upskill to get back into the workforce and Texas students who have previously stopped out of higher education institutions without completing a postsecondary credential.
TXWORKS
Texas Working Off-Campus: Reinforcing Knowledge and Skills (WORKS) Internship Program (TXWORKS) is a statewide paid internship program developed exclusively for Texas undergraduate students and employers. Employers that hire eligible students through TXWORKS will be reimbursed a portion of the hourly wages for each intern at the completion of the internship period.
Other Resources
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is committed to aligning pathways to promote efficient time to degree through transfer initiatives aimed at reducing excess semester credits and maximizing credits earned toward student’s degrees and certificates at institutions of higher education.
Review information pertaining to strategic alignment between workforce needs and education.
Private Postsecondary Resources
The Coordinating Board authorizes accredited degree-granting private postsecondary institutions under a Certificate of Authorization and provides oversight of degree-granting private postsecondary institutions under a Certificate of Authority while they seek recognized accreditation.
Workforce Education Course Manual (WECM)
WECM provides community and technical colleges with web-based inventory of pre-approved courses developed in close partnership with Instructional Specialists representing a wide variety of technical fields.
Programs of Study work to align college and career readiness standards and career and technical education standards with the knowledge, skills, and abilities students are expected to demonstrate.
Contact
Inquiries regarding how we equip our workforce should be sent to Mindy Nobles, Director, Workforce Education.
