The historic transformation from industrial economies to technology-enabled, knowledge-based economies is disrupting the skills needs of employers. This is especially evident in Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast region where worker mobility still faces many barriers, putting our regional competitiveness at stake. If handled with innovation and openness from the business and education communities, this transition period could unlock untold mutual benefit for workers, employers, and the economy.
The number and productivity of people working are straightforward and important factors supporting the growth and prosperity of Houston’s regional economy. But layer over demographic shifts in the region and what becomes apparent is the need for innovative thinking and investments in education and upskilling if we are to ensure every person has the skills to compete and the opportunity to find purpose and meaning in their work. Facts business and education leaders in the region must contend with include:
- Between 60 and 70 percent of current and future jobs will require education and skills beyond a high school diploma.
- Approximately 1.3 million low-wage workers in the region likely don’t have the education and skills needed to succeed in this future economy – particularly with the increased need for training beyond high school. These workers will need low-cost, convenient, and high-quality upskilling opportunities.
- The approximately 80,000 to 100,000 young adults transitioning from high school each year, whether into the workforce, military, or postsecondary institutions, won’t fully meet the skills needs of this future economy, either.
The Houston region is merely a microcosm of what we are experiencing nationally as employers face the prospect of major talent disruptions. It is essential to anticipate and address key skills trends disrupting our workforce, particularly as more employers shift to skills-based hiring. Consider:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation technologies are redefining work and affecting all jobs – creating new ones, augmenting certain roles, and automating others – and will require workers to have higher levels of digital and technology skills across industries and functions.
- Employers are placing higher premiums on essential/non-cognitive skills like communication, teamwork, and critical thinking that are essential for baseline workplace success. A contribution mindset and willingness to learn will become essential for workers, helping them adapt to a competitive and constantly changing environment.
- Skills are becoming obsolete more quickly and will require routine on-the-job upskilling and reskilling of the existing workforce.
The pace of skills change, demographic trends, and economic uncertainty will likely make it more challenging to solve talent shortages through traditional means. We will need adaptable and more agile approaches. Our region’s community colleges and the growing number of non-degree education pathways will play an important and indispensable role in preparing this future workforce and the more immediate need of upskilling incumbent low-wage workers. Our ability to succeed will also depend on strong employer engagement to challenge outdated mental models and policies to drive the culture and practice-change necessary to initiate virtuous cycles of economic growth and individual and collective prosperity.
UpSkill Houston: An Example of an Employer-Led Initiative to Close the Gap
In 2014, the Greater Houston Partnership created UpSkill Houston as an employer-led, jobs-first initiative to address Houston’s skills-gap challenges. UpSkill Houston is a collaboration between employers and business leaders, educational institutions, community-based social service providers, and the public workforce system that drives collective action to align and integrate efforts that clarify and elevate the skills employers need. UpSkill Houston addresses institutional and structural barriers (information and data, resources, skills trends, etc.) that contribute to the skills gap of occupations that require education and skills beyond a high school diploma and less than a four-year bachelor’s degree. It is a team sport to build the talent pipelines for these occupations needed by the employers and industries in Houston’s regional economy.
Employers lead this work because they are the subject-matter experts on the critical occupations in their industries. They have direct and specific knowledge about essential/foundational, occupational, digital, and technical skills needed for success. When aggregated for an industry, the information from the employers can ensure education, community, and workforce institutions guide and support individuals in developing skills to succeed. This collaboration provides optimal, integrated, and effective institutional responses to skills gaps.
With improved coordination and alignment across multiple systems that develop our region’s talent, we can optimize and strengthen the supports and services individuals require to improve their economic mobility and prosperity. For example, improved integration between education providers (i.e., career and student services), community-based organizations (i.e., wraparound services and supports, ongoing client relationships), and workforce career offices (i.e., tuition and scholarships, childcare, etc.) can transform the support individuals receive and strengthen educational and workforce outcomes. In the future, it will be important to support and provide incentives for educational institutions, public workforce career offices, and community-based organizations to co-locate and integrate services and supports to ensure there is long-term success of adult learners and students.
In addition to championing employer leadership, UpSkill Houston focuses on ensuring students and adult learners can navigate a dynamic labor market by pairing and aligning their existing skills and aptitudes to opportunities that help unlock their potential. Effective career coaching, counseling, and advising are essential to provide a strong user experience that supports the success of students and adult learners. An effective career counselor provides the encouragement learners often need as they navigate this journey. Creating a visualization or map of the pathways accessible to individuals helps them better discern where they are motivated to contribute and how to get started. UpSkill Houston and United Way of Greater Houston have convened the first cohort of career coaches from across the region to augment professional training and strengthen coaching capabilities as part of a career coaching network and community of practice.
Over the coming years, employers and institutions will need to operate at increased levels of urgency, speed, and agility. We will continue to foster innovation between employers and educators of all types to develop and implement upskilling programs for incumbent workers, including a focus on transferable skills such as project management, data analytics, and core digital skills. This work requires an enabling infrastructure that can scale business and industry partnerships focused on building the skilled workforce employers need.
How You Can Help Close the Gap
There are many quality resources available to other communities looking to replicate what we have built in Texas. Business and education leaders can get started building strong partnerships by taking collaborative actions described in Harvard Business School’s The Partnership Imperative.
An example of a scaling and proven approach used in communities in 44 states across the country is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Talent Pipeline Management or TPM, which we have also deployed in Texas.
TPM is an in-person academy to train business, workforce, and economic development leaders to create career pathways for students and workers into industries with significant demand for talent. In February of 2023, TPM expanded to include Co/Lab, a new virtual platform that will make these trainings available everywhere. Support from the Charles Koch Foundation (CKF), the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Lumina Foundation, and Walmart.org made the Co/Lab expansion possible. TPM, and other resources like it, help give communities the tools they need to build their own pipelines and pathways. By using a common methodology, such as Upskill Houston or Talent Pipeline Management, we can align, integrate, and optimize our collective work to address the skills gap for the nation’s industries.
Now more than ever before, is an opportunity to leverage the frustrations and aspirations of workers, educators, and employers to creatively push beyond our outdated models of talent and regional development. Doing so is in the mutual interest of all stakeholders and takes advantage of this historic economic transformation to produce greater prosperity, opportunity, and meaning for everyone.
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