Workforce and Talent Development
Recognizing the talent and employment opportunities in and around Pearland are crucial to determining how business recruit, develop, and retain talent. Workforce and talent are a high-level focus area based on Pearland’s highly educated community and opportunities for leveraging the city’s advantages around talent development (e.g., quality PK-12 public schools, proximity to higher education institutions and training providers, etc.). Collaboration through public, private, and nonprofit partners in Pearland further enhance the community’s workforce, and by extension, its competitiveness for jobs and investment. Pearland’s Workforce strategy aspires to achieve the vision of the workforce and talent focus area by leveraging existing workforce strategies and initiatives being performed by area partners as well as implementing new strategies that respond to the needs of businesses. The PEDC Workforce Director will be a resource to new and existing area business and will work closely to:
Attract and Retain Talent
PEDC works directly with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), local workforce offices—Workforce Solutions—and nearby community colleges to leverage State of Texas training grants and create customized training programs for your business. Workforce Solutions can also identify and recruit key employees for your company.
Texas Workforce Commission (TWC)
The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) is the state agency that oversees workforce development services for employers and job seekers in Texas. TWC offers recruiting, training, and retraining, outplacement services, assistance recruiting and retaining qualified employees with disabilities, and valuable information on employment law and labor market trends and statistics.
Workforce Solutions
Workforce Solutions can assist businesses find qualified candidates who are trained and equipped with the right skills to fill open positions. The Gulf Coast Workforce Board and its operating affiliate Workforce Solutions are the public workforce system in the 13-county Houston-Galveston region of Texas. Workforce Solutions helps employers meet their human resource needs by providing the resources, intelligence and tools needed to navigate the local market and build the workforce. They offer recruiting, screening, testing, and training for potential hires. They also offer industry specific guidance, HR consulting and training opportunities to help meet hiring goals. It also maintains free access to a statewide, online job-matching system for employers called WorkInTexas (http://workintexas.com/)
On The Job Training
On-the-Job Training (OJT) offers participants an opportunity to earn as they learn, while employers benefit from a partial wage reimbursement during the training period. OJT focuses on jobs that involve new technologies, production, service, or additional skills for full-time positions (30 hours per week is considered full-time) paying at least $12.00 per hour or more. Advantages to the employer include:
- No cost access to a carefully screened pool of available talent
- You set the qualifications, interview, and select the individual
- Customized training your way, at your workplace
- Receive a 50% reimbursement of the new employee’s wage, up to $21.00 per hour, while they are training (up to 400 hours and based upon the targeted occupation)
- The average employer reimbursement is $3,000
- Simple process with minimal paperwork
Workforce solutions partners with various industries and locations throughout the 13-county region and offers a team of specialized recruiters to help match skill sets and positions. Employers from the private non-profit or private sectors with a current state issued tax ID and a recent history of taxable wages on at least three current employees can participate.
OJT is only available for new employees, and training information must be established prior to the start date.
https://www.wrksolutions.com/for-employers/attract-and-retain-talent/on-the-job-training
Apprenticeship
PEDC can advise and connect businesses to Workforce Solutions and Department of Labor to launch their own apprenticeship programs to assist in building a reliable talent pipeline of skilled workers. Apprenticeship is a smart business investment which involves a combination of on-the-job training and related classroom instruction in which workers learn the practical and theoretical aspects of a highly skilled occupation. Apprenticeship programs are sponsored by joint employer and labor groups, individual employers, or employer associations. Apprenticeships have structured and federally approved curricula that has required on-the-job training and classroom education components towards skills milestones and scheduled pay increases. On-the-job Training reimbursement rate increases to 75% and upto 640 hours.
https://www.twc.texas.gov/businesses/apprenticeship-program-employers
Paid Work Experience
This is comparable to a ‘Paid Internship”. Paid Work experience helps offset the cost of hiring a new employee that may lack skills or knowledge entering the workforce for the first time or after a long hiatus. It allows the employee to try the individual on a temp-to-hire basis before they commit to permanent employment. Workforce Solutions will help offset 100% of the employees’ wages for up to 10 weeks and will serve as the employer of record. Standard hours per week is 29. This is funded through our relationship with local workforce solutions office.
Train Talent to Fit Your Needs
Companies need great talent to compete and survive in a global economy. PEDC supports Pearland employers by supplying the resources necessary to help employees grow and retain the key knowledge you need in your business. Whatever the training need is, PEDC can bring a suitable business training partner to the situation and help create solutions. For example, training assistance is available in such areas as:
- Computer skills
- Manufacturing
- Team and management development
- Safety and quality
RESOURCE PROVIDERS AND PROGRAMS
Skills Development Fund
The Skills Development Fund is an innovative program created to assist Texas public community and technical colleges in financing site specific customized job training for their local businesses and employees. The fund is administered by the Texas Workforce Commission and funds customized training needed for full-time employees by businesses in partnership with a Texas public community college, technical college, or local workforce board. Average training benefits are $1,000 per trainee. However, the benefit may vary depending on the proposal. The maximum award amount is $500,000. Employer must pay prevailing wages in the local labor market for the trainees funded under the grant.
This fund successfully merges business needs and local customized training opportunities into a winning formula to increase the skills levels and wages of the Texas workforce. Success comes through collaboration among economic development partners, business partners, and eligible grant applicants, which include public community or technical colleges, community-based organizations in partnership with one of these entities, or a local Workforce Development Board.
PEDC staff will work with your company to draft the application for these training funds, and with State of Texas officials overseeing the evaluation and awarding of the funds. PEDC will also assist in maximizing existing training programs present in our region’s three primary community colleges: Alvin Community College, Houston Community College and San Jacinto Community College.
https://www.twc.texas.gov/businesses/skills-development-fund-employers
Current Worker Training
This program is managed by the local workforce solutions office. Training for current workers of an employer can include skill training, skill upgrading, basic education or combinations. The employer chooses a provider or Workforce Solutions can help find a training provider. Cost is shared between the employer and the Workforce solutions. Employer chooses who to train and 50% of the trainees must be employed at least 6 months with the company. Depending on Company size, training, and number of trainees 10%-90% of the cost will be matched.
Closing the Skills Gap with UpSkill
The Greater Houston Partnership developed UpSkill Houston, a comprehensive, industry-led approach to bridge the gap and fill jobs in “middle-skills” occupations, advanced technical and craft careers that require education and skills development beyond high school but less than a four-year college degree. UpSkill Houston is an innovative blueprint for leaders from the business community, educational institutions, and social service organizations to utilize as we lead this effort to build a quality workforce.
https://www.houston.org/upskillhouston
Texas Workforce Commission: Texas Industry Partnership Program
TWC has dedicated $1 million to address skills gaps and ensure a talent pipeline is available to address regional industry needs. Private employers or corporate foundations can collaborate with Workforce Solutions to apply for funding for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) activities that support workforce development for six designated industry clusters.
https://www.twc.texas.gov/texas-industry-partnership-program
Skills For Small Business
Skills for Small Business is a program designed by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) office of Employer Initiatives to serve employers with fewer than 100 employees. Assistance is provided for training full-time employees, newly hired or those who have been hired by the business up to twelve months prior to the date that TWC receives an application. Training must be through a Texas Public or community college or the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX). The training can be for one or more courses and in any form: credit, continuing education, online or unpublished.
Reimbursement provided up to $1800 for tuition and fees per new hire, per 12-month period and up to $900 for tuition and fees per incumbent employee.
Local Community Colleges
Pearland’s community colleges provide customized training and continuing education either on campus or on-site. Each college partners with businesses to identify specific employee or team development needs and creates a targeted plan.
Using Skills Development Fund grants, businesses can target specific training programs that are necessary either for new employee training or to elevate the skills of existing employees. Community college staff works closely with PEDC and your company to identify your training needs, apply for grants and complete the training.
Community college partners include:
Alvin Community College
Houston Community College
San Jacinto College
Ongoing Training and Development
Training Assistance
Ongoing Training and development assistance is provided by Workforce solutions and the Pearland Chamber of commerce on a variety of professional development and staff development topics.
Workforce Solutions provides comprehensive service to our employer customers by anticipating and addressing hiring and employment issues.
Training and development for HR professionals is provided at no cost, and can provide expert speakers on each featured topic. Designed to keep employers up-to-date on relevant HR issues, all seminars provide continuing education credits.
Seminars are hosted in Workforce Solutions’ Career Offices located throughout the 13-county Texas Gulf Coast region.
Contact information for the Pearland office is below:
Workforce Solutions
5730 W. Broadway Ste 122
Pearland, Texas 77581
832-409-0049
Workforce Solutions – Pearland Office
https://www.wrksolutions.com/for-employers/hr-training-and-development
The Pearland Chamber provides access to staff training modules on a variety of topics to its members as well. The Chamber office is located at:
Pearland Chamber of Commerce
6117 Broadway St.
Pearland, TX 77581
High Demand Job Training
This grant involves collaboration between a Type A or type B economic Development Corporation (EDC) and the Local workforce development board to leverage sales tax dollars to provide high-demand occupational job training to their local workforce areas. These are dollar for dollar matching funds up to $150,000 of the EDC’s funds that can be spent on workforce innovation and Opportunity act (WIOA) to provide high demand job training activities and related cost. Funds will be available through August 31, 2022.
https://www.twc.state.tx.us/high-demand-job-training-program
Texas Industry Partnership Program
TWC has dedicated funding to address skills gaps and ensure a talent pipeline is available to address regional industry needs. Private employers or corporate foundations can collaborate with Workforce Solutions to apply for funding for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) activities that support workforce development for six designated industry clusters (Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace, Aviation and Defense, Biotechnology and Life Sciences, Energy, Information Technology, Petroleum Refining and Chemical Products). Allowable WIOA activities include high demand job training activities such as training, mentoring, support services, skills assessments, cluster analysis. Funds received through the grant can be used to match dollar for dollar up to $150,000 of Industry partner(s) monies used to provide the high-demand training
https://www.twc.state.tx.us/texas-industry-partnership-program