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We're bringing employer voices, local success stories and regional workforce partnerships directly to Texas lawmakers to show how investing in people strengthens our state's economy.

Texas is growing. Businesses are expanding, new industries are arriving and communities across our state are welcoming opportunities that would have seemed unimaginable just a generation ago.

But behind every new manufacturing facility, hospital, small business and major economic development announcement is a question that matters just as much as the investment itself.

Where will we find the people with the skills to make it all happen?

That's the conversation we're bringing to the Texas Capitol today.

Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area (WSRCA) is joining forces with Workforce Solutions Capital Area and Workforce Solutions Alamo for Powering Texas' Workforce & Economy, a legislative luncheon highlighting how local partnerships, employer-driven solutions and workforce investments are strengthening communities across Central and South Texas.

We're bringing together workforce leaders, employers, educators and community partners to connect directly with Texas lawmakers and their staff, share what's working in our regions and discuss the workforce challenges that will shape our state's economic future.

And we're delivering a message that matters for every Texas community.

Workforce solutions are economic development solutions.

Why We're at the Capitol Today

Texas has built a reputation as a place where businesses can grow, innovate and succeed.

But attracting investment is only part of the equation.

When a company chooses to expand in Texas, it needs qualified workers. When a hospital opens, it needs healthcare professionals. When a manufacturer introduces new technology, it needs people who can operate, maintain and improve it.

And when working parents can't find affordable, reliable child care, even the best job opportunities can remain out of reach.

These challenges are connected, and addressing them requires more than a one-size-fits-all approach.

That's where Texas' 28 local workforce development boards come in.

We're more than employment service providers. We're strategic partners in economic development, helping employers find talent, preparing Texans for meaningful careers and bringing communities together around shared workforce needs.

Today's luncheon is an opportunity to show lawmakers what that work looks like in action.

As Texas prepares for its next legislative session, we're highlighting why locally driven workforce solutions are essential to our state's continued success.

Showing What Workforce Solutions Actually Does

One of today's priorities is helping policymakers better understand the value of local workforce development boards.

Through the statewide Texas Talent & Economic Growth initiative, we're emphasizing three important roles that guide our work:

• Texas Talent Experts: We understand local labor markets, identify emerging industry needs and help employers connect with the skilled workers they need.
• Service Optimizers: We help make workforce investments more effective by connecting businesses and job seekers with training, resources and services that deliver results.
• Relationship Managers: We bring employers, educators, economic development organizations and community partners together to solve challenges that no single organization can address alone.

For WSRCA, these responsibilities are especially important across our nine-county service area, where rapidly growing communities, established rural industries and emerging technology sectors are creating different workforce needs.

A manufacturer in Williamson County may need technicians trained in advanced automation. A healthcare employer in Hays County may be searching for nurses and medical assistants. A small business in Burnet or Caldwell County may need help finding qualified applicants or developing its existing workforce.

The challenges may look different, but our approach remains the same.

Listen to employers. Understand the workforce. Bring the right partners together. Build solutions that work locally.

Bringing Rural Central Texas Success Stories to the Capitol

We're especially excited to showcase how our Rural Capital Area communities are preparing for the future.

One example is the growing demand for skilled talent in advanced manufacturing and emerging industries.

Major investments, including Blue Origin's planned facility in Hutto, highlight the opportunities taking shape across our region. They also reinforce the importance of preparing workers for increasingly technical careers.

But building tomorrow's workforce doesn't begin when someone applies for their first job.

It begins much earlier.

That's why we're highlighting our LEAP Regional Career Expo, an innovative K–12 initiative connecting students with local employers, industries and career opportunities.

Through hands-on experiences, students explore careers in manufacturing, healthcare, construction, technology and other industries while discovering opportunities available right here in their own communities.

For employers, LEAP creates opportunities to introduce young people to their industries and begin developing future talent pipelines.

For students, it helps answer a question that could shape their future.

What could my career look like, and could I build it right here at home?

Our Capital Area and Alamo partners are also sharing examples of workforce innovation, demonstrating how different communities are developing solutions around their own employers, industries and economic opportunities.

Behind Every Number Is a Person

Today, we're sharing more than programs and statistics.

Together, our three workforce boards are highlighting the combined impact of our work, including job seekers and employers served, workforce training opportunities and children supported through child care scholarships.

Those numbers help demonstrate the value of public workforce investments.

But the stories behind them explain why those investments matter.

For WSRCA, one of those stories involves Beyond Wow Plumbing, a local employer we helped establish a Registered Apprenticeship Program.

By creating opportunities for workers to earn while they learn, the company is building its own pipeline of skilled talent while helping Central Texans develop careers with long-term potential.

It's a practical example of workforce development solving two challenges at once: helping businesses address hiring needs while creating meaningful opportunities for workers.

We're also highlighting another essential part of workforce development that doesn't always receive the attention it deserves.

Child care.

When a parent has access to affordable, reliable child care, they're better positioned to pursue employment, complete training or advance in their career.

When child care providers have the resources and workforce they need, they help keep other businesses running.

Child care isn't separate from workforce development. It's part of the infrastructure that makes workforce participation possible.

And we're making sure that message is part of today's conversation.

Putting Employers at the Center of the Conversation

Some of today's most important perspectives are coming directly from the businesses and organizations we serve.

A featured panel discussion, Connecting Local People to Local Jobs, will bring employer voices to the forefront.

Moderated by Aaron Demerson, President and CEO of the Texas Economic Development Corporation, the conversation will feature:

• Amy Payne, Owner and Director of Mrs. Amy's Adventures Preschool
• Mark Sherry, System Vice President of People Operations and Service Solutions at Baylor Scott & White Health
• Yousef Kassim, CEO of Easy Expunctions

Together, they'll bring real-world perspectives on talent shortages, workforce preparation, child care, regional collaboration and the relationship between business success and workforce development.

Their insights will help answer a question that matters to every policymaker in the room.

What workforce challenges must Texas address today to remain competitive tomorrow?

We're particularly proud to see child care represented in this discussion.

When we strengthen child care providers, we're strengthening the businesses that depend on working parents, the families who rely on dependable care and the communities that depend on both.

Three Regions. One Shared Commitment.

The Rural Capital Area, Capital Area and Alamo regions each have their own economic strengths, industries and workforce challenges.

But today, we're coming together around a shared commitment.

We want Texas businesses to succeed. We want more Texans to discover meaningful career opportunities. And we want economic growth to create lasting benefits for the communities we serve.

By joining forces at the Capitol, we're demonstrating something that's easy to overlook.

Workforce challenges don't stop at county lines. Neither should the solutions.

Regional collaboration helps us share knowledge, coordinate resources, respond to changing industry needs and create stronger connections between education, training and employment.

It's also a reminder that statewide economic success begins with local action.

Our Message to Texas Leaders Today

As we meet with lawmakers, employers and community partners today, we're reinforcing three messages we hope will help shape conversations leading into the next legislative session.

Workforce development is economic development. Businesses need skilled workers to grow, and communities need strong talent pipelines to compete for new opportunities.

Local solutions matter. Every Texas region has different industries, employers and challenges. Local workforce boards understand those differences and help connect resources with actual community needs.

Investing in people strengthens Texas. Whether we're helping a student discover a career, supporting a working parent with child care, assisting a business with an apprenticeship program or helping someone return to employment, workforce investments create opportunities that reach far beyond a single job placement.

For nearly 40 years, WSRCA has worked alongside employers, educators and community partners to help Central Texans build stronger futures.

Today, we're proud to bring that experience, those partnerships and those success stories directly to the Texas Capitol.

Because the future of Texas won't be determined by economic investment alone.

It will be determined by the people who turn those investments into progress.

And making sure those people have the skills, support and opportunities to succeed is exactly why we're here today.