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Taylor is growing, opportunity is growing, and Workforce Solutions is growing right along with it.

On Friday, September 18, Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area (WSRCA) will celebrate the grand opening of our Workforce Solutions of Williamson County – Taylor Center, an investment designed to bring workforce resources, career connections and employer solutions closer to the people and businesses of eastern Williamson County.

But we’re not just opening doors to a new workforce center.

We’re opening new doors to opportunity.

As part of the celebration, WSRCA will join American YouthWorks to announce a new YouthBuild partnership that will expand education, career training and hands-on workforce opportunities for young people in Taylor and communities across the eastern side of our region.

Growing With Taylor

Taylor and eastern Williamson County are changing quickly.

New businesses, new industries and new residents are creating tremendous possibilities, but growth also creates new workforce needs.

Employers need access to talent. Residents need pathways into the careers being created around them. Young people need opportunities to build skills that can lead to good careers without assuming those opportunities only exist somewhere else.

That’s where Workforce Solutions comes in.

Our Taylor center gives residents and employers a local connection to a much larger workforce network.

For a job seeker, that could mean help exploring careers, improving a résumé, preparing for an interview, searching for employment or connecting with education and training.

For an employer, it could mean recruiting assistance, workforce information, training resources or connections with education and community partners.

And sometimes it starts with something even simpler: a conversation.

Tell us where you want to go, what you’re trying to build or what workforce challenge you’re facing. We’ll help you explore what’s possible.

Bringing Opportunity Closer to Home

That same idea is at the heart of our new partnership with American YouthWorks.

The initiative is part of a much larger national effort supported by the U.S. Department of Labor to connect young people who face barriers to employment with education, career training and pathways into apprenticeships and good jobs.

YouthBuild is a workforce development pre-apprenticeship program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. Approximately 200 active Department of Labor YouthBuild programs operate across 40 states, serving about 5,000 young people each year.

Through a $1.5 million U.S. Department of Labor YouthBuild grant awarded to WSRCA, we’re bringing a share of that national investment directly into the Rural Capital Area, creating new opportunities for young people in Taylor and other communities across the eastern side of our region.

The initiative will serve up to 66 young people through a Construction Plus pre-apprenticeship model combining education, hands-on training, work experience and industry-recognized credentials with pathways into skilled trades and healthcare careers.

Participants will have opportunities to earn stackable, industry-recognized credentials while preparing for employment, registered apprenticeships and continued education. They’ll also receive individualized support and connections to employers to help turn training into the next step in their careers.

For young people in rural communities, distance can become a very real barrier to opportunity. Transportation costs, work schedules and family responsibilities can make accessing education and training difficult to sustain.

Bringing those opportunities closer to home changes that equation.

Building a Stronger Local Talent Pipeline

There’s another side to this investment.

When we help someone develop skills close to home, we’re also helping employers develop talent close to home.

American YouthWorks brings 50 years of experience in workforce skills development, education and service, while WSRCA brings a regional network of employers, educators, workforce partners and community organizations across the nine-county Rural Capital Area. American YouthWorks has operated YouthBuild programming in Central Texas since 1994, including experience with more than nine previous U.S. Department of Labor YouthBuild grants.

Together, we can create stronger connections between education, training and the careers employers need to fill.

Employer connections will be built throughout the program, with placement assistance and 12 months of follow-up support helping participants transition into employment, registered apprenticeships or postsecondary education.

That’s workforce development at its best.

It isn’t simply preparing someone for their next job. It’s helping communities build their own talent pipelines and giving more young people an opportunity to begin careers without having to leave their communities to get started.

More Than a Ribbon Cutting

That’s why September 18 is about much more than opening a new office.

It’s about access. It’s about partnership. And it’s about creating more places where residents, employers, educators and community partners can come together to solve workforce challenges.

The Taylor center gives eastern Williamson County another front door into the workforce system.

YouthBuild extends that idea even further by creating new education, training and career pathways for young people.

Different investments. Same goal.

Bring opportunity closer to home.

Join Us in Taylor

We invite the community to celebrate both milestones with us on Friday, September 18.

RSVP: https://bit.ly/wsrcataylorgrandopening

The program will include remarks from WSRCA Chief Executive Officer Paul Fletcher; WSRCA Board Chair Frank Leonardis; Texas Workforce Commission Commissioner Representing the Public Brent Connett; and Williamson County Judge Steven Snell.

WSRCA Chief Operating Officer Diane Cook and American YouthWorks Chief Executive Officer Parc Smith will then help announce the new YouthBuild partnership, followed by a ceremonial check presentation, ribbon cutting and group photos.

Friday, September 18, 2026 | 11 a.m.
Workforce Solutions of Williamson County – Taylor Center
111 W. 3rd Street, Suite 200
Taylor, TX 76574

Tours of the Workforce Center and networking will follow the program.

Taylor’s future is being built right now by the people who live here, the employers investing here and the organizations working together to create opportunity.

We’re proud to be part of that work.

And we’re excited to open the doors to what comes next.