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Texas Reskilling & Upskilling Through Education

March 24, 2021
During the interim, Chairman Brandon Creighton, chair of the Texas Senate Committee on Higher Education, visited San Jacinto College to hear from higher education practitioners, students and partners. The message overwhelmingly shared during this visit displayed the pivotal role that community colleges are serving to help Texas recover from setbacks the COVID-19 pandemic presented to Texans and looking forward to the future workforce demands of our state.  

Chancellor of San Jacinto College, Dr. Brenda Hellyer, and business leaders shared the need to collaborate with the businesss sector to inform programs that meet high-demand industry needs and provide students pathways to credentials leading to meaningful careers that have shifted due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Watch highlights of this conversation: https://youtu.be/eWuIkfdJ5Ow. 
 
Community colleges, as the largest providers of workforce credentials in Texas, are uniquely poised to contribute to Texas’ COVID-19 recovery strategy. Community colleges serve as a critical link between education and the workforce through their robust, regionally responsive credentialing, professional development, work-based learning, and other career-connected programs.
 
Additionally, community colleges exhibit responsiveness to students, particularly adult learners who often need flexibility in their schedules to continue to work while upskilling or reskilling for their next career opportunity. San Jacinto College student, Charles Wilson, shared with Chairman Creighton that reskilling to earn a credential has helped him move into the petrochemical industry and has created an upward trajectory in himself and for his family.
 
Now, during the 87th Texas Legislature, Chairman Creighton is championing an initiative that reflects much of what was discussed in this visit. This effort, the Texas Reskilling & Upskilling through Education (TRUE) initiative, leverages the expertise of community colleges, as well as their existing industry partnerships and labor market data, to develop credentials that return displaced Texans back to the workforce on an accelerated timeline.
 
TRUE would design sustainable pipelines that fill critical workforce needs across the state, identify and provide credentials that meet the purpose of 60x30TX, and expand employer-informed microcredentials and short-term certificates that allow displaced workers to find a rewarding place in the workforce in as little as a few weeks to six months.
 
TRUE is a career-connected, industry-responsive model that would lead to a stronger Texas economy. Texans are the greatest asset Texas has. Investing in Texans now will lead to long-term returns as displaced workers find places in industries that need them, and our economy not only survives these crises but thrives due to the investments the state makes today.
 
We thank Chairman Creighton for having this conversation during the interim and for all the work being done this session to implement policies supportive of increasing alignment between education and the workforce.
 

Share this video. Suggested language:
 
Texans are the greatest asset Texas has. Leveraging the expertise of community colleges, as well as their existing industry partnerships and labor market data, to develop credentials will return displaced Texans back to the workforce on an accelerated timeline. #txlege
 
https://youtu.be/eWuIkfdJ5Ow

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