The Texas Association of Manufacturers said training programs that produce highly qualified workers are essential in order for the manufacturing industry in Texas stay ahead after a tweet by the Manufacturers Alliance questioned the availability of talent.
"In order for Texas' manufacturing industry to continue growing, high-quality workforce training programs and career readiness are essential," The Texas Association of Manufacturers posted on Jan. 28, sharing another tweet by the Manufacturers Alliance asking "how to get the word out to get manufacturing the talent it needs."
Texas has seen a drop in trade-type jobs, such as plumbers, electricians and HVAC workers in recent years, especially in rural areas, where populations are steadily declining.
According to a report by KETK in May, businesses in Henderson and other towns in East Texas were having a tough time finding workers. The group Workforce Solutions of East Texas sought to improve access to training to bolster the workforce. The issue was, however, there were too many jobs and not enough workers to fill them, the station reported.
Texas Association of Manufacturers "works to educate, inform and empower our industry leaders, consumers, policymakers and the media with timely perspective on the issues and concerns impacting the industry and its members’ ability to create jobs, invest, expand and keep Texas prosperous," according to its website. The association represents more than 600 small and large businesses in Texas.
Dr. Manuel Reyes, director and senior research analyst at UT Tyler, said many young people are not as eager to work an in-person job as they once were. The Hibbs Institute for Business and Economic Research said that many job openings in the oil and gas field, manufacturing and transportation are paying above the average annual wage in areas such as Rusk County, Texas. Still, employers and workers need help to be matched up.
“There are hundreds of job positions in all of our rural areas. Some of the things that we are trying to do is we partner with our communities for recruitment events as well as working in the schools for the youth opportunities,” Kim Stacy, business services manager at Workforce Solutions of East Texas, told KETK.
Texas' labor shortage is affecting many small businesses as companies search for workers to fill vacant positions, according to a column by Cynthia M. Allen of the Fort-Worth Star Telegram. In what Allen called the "Great Resignation," many workers quit or were forced to leave their jobs during the pandemic and never returned. Meanwhile, jobs are available in Texas, causing many Americans to move to Texas in order to fill them. In fact, Allen wrote, Texas leads the nation in job growth as startups and the gig economy abound.
Rural Texas is experiencing population loss, according to state government demographics. In all, 143 counties in Texas are losing population, mainly in Northwest and West Texas, but 111 are gaining population, mainly in the “Texas Triangle" of Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth, the report stated.
