Higher education and business leaders say Texas is reimagining workforce development through legislative and educational strategies aimed at transforming how students prepare for careers in the world’s rapidly changing economy.

The Dallas Regional Chamber held a higher education forum Tuesday to give officials an opportunity to showcase efforts to adapt to evolving workforce needs.

Those efforts matter across Dallas-Fort Worth, where graduates from over 70 accredited colleges and universities contribute over $120 billion annually to the region’s economy, and the school institutions collectively contribute $37 billion and employ over 300,000 people, according to the Dallas Regional Chamber (The Chamber is a supporter of the Future of North Texas initiative at The News.)

These findings come as parts of North Texas continue to struggle with poverty, which can hinder one’s ability to obtain better jobs, advocates say. In Dallas County, two out of three young adults cannot afford essential living costs, including food, shelter and health care, according to the Commit Partnership. (Commit is a supporter of the Future of North Texas initiative.)

Colleges and businesses have to do more to prepare students for the workforce in order to uplift residents and sustain Texas’ standing as the world’s eight-largest economy, said Wynn Rosser, the state’s higher education commissioner.

“The state can’t achieve its education and workforce goals without the Dallas-Fort Worth region,” Rosser said.

Here are five takeaways from the higher education forum.

Career training efforts

Dallas-Fort Worth will soon have a new program designed to support young adults who are neither working nor in school, said Kerri Briggs, executive director of Educate Texas, a public-private initiative of the Communities Foundation of Texas. (The Communities Foundation of Texas is a supporter of the Future of North Texas initiative.)

The DFW Opportunity Youth Collaborative will seek to reconnect schools and businesses with over 60,000 adults, ages 19 to 24, Briggs said. She said her organization is excited about creating a new learning collaborative on artificial intelligence and education leadership.

“We’re also working closely with Dallas College and Workforce Solutions to grow access to apprenticeships, which ensures a welcome workforce for our booming, booming business sector,” Briggs said. Workforce Solutions refers to the local workforce development boards in Texas that provide career development services to individuals seeking jobs.

Legislative support for students

New laws passed by state lawmakers could help make higher education more accessible for students, Rosser said.

Effectively immediately, sixth-grade students will be required to create an early career profile on the My Texas Future website to help them explore potential career paths and understand the credentials needed for different jobs, according to Senate Bill 2314.

This law also requires high school seniors to participate in direct admissions, a process that allows students to automatically learn which universities they qualify for by submitting self-reported academic information.

Another new law, Senate Bill 2231, establishes a free college application week during October, eliminating application fees for students. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board also received an additional $328 million for need-based scholarship programs, and is improving how students can transfer financial aid between institutions, Rosser said.

“We now, because of the changes in policy and the additional dollars, will be able to tell the top 25% of eligible students that they will be receiving state need-based aid,” Rosser said, referring to the students who qualify for financial aid based on their academic performance and their family’s income.

Workforce gaps

One of the challenges Texas faces is addressing its labor shortage, officials said, noting that there’s a critical need to develop more technicians and specialized workforce pipelines, particularly in sectors like semiconductors and logistics.

Koushik Venkataraman, director of workforce development for Texas Instruments, said the region needs a lot of people who have earned either an associate’s degree or a level one certificate in electronics, robotics, mechatronics, HVAC, mechanical and electrical.

He recalled how his company discovered at one point that among the 150,000 students enrolled at DFW’s community colleges, only about 1,000 of them took courses related to those fields.

“Even if you just look at the North Texas region … you would need more technicians,” Venkataraman said. “With this number, you’re not going to be able to meet that requirement.”

Efforts to address this gap in high-tech manufacturing fields include increased exposure to those jobs, such as through career exploration programs for middle school students and adults, Venkataraman said.

He lauded the Texas Education Agency for its work to develop a regional program of study for electronic technology and manufacturing, as well as work among the high schools that now offer level one certificates in electronic technology.

Leadership in research and innovation

Despite gaps in workforce skills, Rosser said Texas now leads the nation with the highest number of designated research universities.

Texas now has 16 doctoral degree-granting institutions that conduct research, surpassing both California and New York, Rosser said. The state’s standing comes as Texas has set goals to increase research and innovation spending to $4.5 billion and to award 7,500 research doctorates.

As of 2023, Texas has increased research and innovation spending to $4.2 billion and has awarded more than 6,200 doctoral degrees annually.

This is the first time Texas “has led the nation” in this category, Rosser said, who added that “we do not intend to lose that spot.”

Credential diversity

One of the biggest takeaways from the forum was a call to action for educators to show more appreciation for short-term workforce credentials.

Rosser, who mentioned how he obtained his own Emergency Medical Technician credential about three years ago, said there’s a growing recognition that post-secondary education isn’t just about four-year degrees.

That means Texas is increasingly valuing and supporting various credentials, including certificates, associate degrees and short-term training programs that provide valuable skills for the workforce, Rosser said.

“When your HVAC goes out, you want somebody with the right certification to show up and help,” Rosser said, eliciting laughter from the audience. “And you’ll pay anything it takes.”

This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.