Texas Proud, Texas Strong, Texas Ready, Texas Booming
It’s end of June, summer is here, and already so much has happened. As unemployment continues to fall, TWC is proud to continue our ongoing mission of putting Texans back to work, and helping others upskill and change careers. Meanwhile, our 28 statewide local Workforce Development Boards and 180 plus Workforce Solutions centers across Texas (more below) have and continue to be here for you; our partners are always open, always ready to connect employers and job seekers across Texas and prepared to construct personalized and customized business solutions for your every staffing need.
In further support of Texans, the TWC is supporting childcare initiatives to help Texans heading back to work. This month the TWC adopted a waiver to allow unemployed individuals to enroll in the childcare subsidy program. Previously, only individuals who were already employed, or participating in education or training, could be enrolled into the childcare subsidy program. This change will help accommodate workers who are actively looking for employment, allowing them up to three months to find employment. TWC encourages Texas families to take advantage of the expanded availability of child care, as well as training and upskilling services through TWC, to pursue a career in Texas’ exciting industries. Read more here.
Meanwhile, there has never been a more important time to bring employers and job seekers together. That’s why we are bringing you weekly hiring events, both virtual and in-person from across the state in association with our partners and multiple employers. Click here to see a full list of our weekly updated hiring events.
In addition to the child care subsidy, this month we also unveiled a new portion of the Restaurant Recovery Initiative, providing free and flexible online training to quickly prepare workers for restaurant industry jobs, while continuing to offer our robust suite of services to the Texas workforce and employers. In partnership with the Texas Restaurant Association, the new Restaurant Recovery Training certification portal is another example of TWC’s commitment to providing tools to better connect Texans to jobs.
Workforce readiness? How about registering for 5,000 plus free classes from leadership to Microsoft to healthcare, among others? With our Skills Enhancement Initiative, the Texas Workforce Commission has partnered with Metrix Learning to help Texas residents brush up on skills to prepare for better employment opportunities. The Metrix online learning platform provides Texans free online job readiness courses.
More good news? Texas has jobs—almost a million plus. And you can visit them and more here at MyTXCareer.com and WorkInTexas.com. Both of our websites provide a platform for employers to post open jobs, and for Texans to connect with those employers about those jobs. MyTXCareer provides new users an easy streamlined way to list or find jobs in Texas. WorkinTexas.com is a comprehensive online job search resource and matching system developed and maintained by the Texas Workforce Commission. WorkInTexas.com provides recruiting assistance to Texas employers of all types and sizes, and job search assistance to anyone seeking work in Texas.
At any rate, we want to remind you that we are here to help Texans in multiple ways with our full suite of programs and services.
Let us take a quick look at some of the news highlights from June 2021:
TWC Has Available Child Care Resources
TWC is committed to providing comprehensive services to help Texas job seekers connect to rewarding opportunities with Texas employers. TWC has enacted a child care subsidy to aide Texas’ workforce in their return to in-person employment. This program helps Texans get back to work by offering child care accommodations for those actively seeking employment.
More information can be found on the COVID-19 Child Care Resource Page.
TWC Resources = Your Success
Texas strong, Texas ready, workforce ready. Texas is back to work and TWC is here to help both employers and job seekers alike with a full suite of resources to aide in workforce development for our state. Did you know we have 180+ Workforce Solutions offices and staff across the state available free of charge to you today to assist in all your employer and job seeker needs?
- For information available to employers through TWC, click here.
- TWC offers services from child care to hiring events. Job seekers can visit this sitefor more information.
Click here to find your local Workforce Solutions office.
We have a lot going on at TWC that we think really impacts the Texas workforce. We also believe that leadership should make itself available and transparent and demonstrate we’re listening to your suggestions. Every Thursday, our TWC Chairman Bryan Daniel takes some time to address your previously posted questions (and emails) about our TWC programs and services and discusses resources that can help connect our state’s world-class workforce with some of the exciting opportunities Texas’ innovative industries have to offer.
In his recent June video, Chairman Daniel addressed the latest happenings at TWC and the creative process behind his videos. Have you got a topic suggestion for his next vlog? Drop it in his video comments and see his latest here!
TWC Launches Restaurant Recovery
New times, new tools. As the Texas hospitality industry continues to rebound, TWC this month launched a new training portal designed for service industry workers to easily access and complete trainings and certifications.
A series of training videos in English and Spanish, which can be viewed here, include a number of topics, including off-premises food sales, maximizing drive-through window sales, creating a menu for off-premises sales, negotiating third party delivery contracts, alcohol-to-go sales and many others.
- Learn more about how TWC supports the hospitality industry here.
Bright Minds, Bright Futures!
This month, our Commissioner Representing Labor Julian Alvarez attended the FIRST Robotics competition in the Rio Grande Valley. FIRST is a non-profit educational public charity offering STEM educational services that inspires the use of technology to better our future.
Robotics competitions bring together the excitement of sports with science and technology. Participation promotes leadership skills in the science, engineering and technology fields, while encouraging self-confidence and communications skills.
This month, TWC used legislative authority to set unemployment insurance (UI) tax rates for 2021 at a stable level, consistent with 2020 rates, to avoid burdening Texas businesses with a significant increase of taxes resulting from pandemic-related closures outside of their control.
If you’re an employer, you may have already received a message from your TWC Commissioner Representing Employers Aaron Demerson regarding the above tax rate set.
Hear more about what this means for Texas businesses in our press release.
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
In June, TWC introduced “Start My VR,” an online self-referral portal for prospective vocational rehabilitation customers, providing a convenient way for individuals with disabilities who are seeking employment to inquire about Vocational Rehabilitation Services and/or be connected to a VR staff member.
Read more about Start My VR in our press release.
Commissioner Representing Employers Aaron Demerson awarded Skills Development Fund and Jobs and Education for Texans grants totaling $474,999 to Texarkana College this month. These grants help Texarkana College and their partners increase access to and purchase equipment for enhanced trainings for their students, helping them prepare to enter the workforce in high-demand occupations.
Learn more about Texarkana College and their grant partners in this press release.
Texas is hiring, statewide. And we are helping bring employers and job seekers together. Workforce Development Boards across Texas are getting Texans back to work through both virtual and in-person job fairs. These events help connect workers with employment opportunities through flexible attendance options in virtual and in-person settings.
Check out a full list of hiring events coming up across the state here.
Camp Code
Coding, computer science and camps. We’ll have more of that, please. The Texas Workforce Commission’s Camp Code is happening across the state this summer with openings still available. At Camp Code summer camps, students get hands-on experiences that allow them to learn problem solving and analytical skills while fostering an interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) related careers with a focus on computer science.
Read more about Camp Code here.
How do you connect dots when it comes to the Texas Workforce Commission and you? Check out ‘Coffee with Commissioner,’ a new monthly series of videos that TWC Commissioner of Labor Julian Alvarez will record and share on various topics that affect Texans and that can help in their search for employment, upskilling, training, and upward mobility. These discussions are more along the lines of smaller, intimate discussions (think casual and relaxed) with specialized individuals on specific topics that have either been requested in advance by the public or that we know will be of great benefit with respect to our array of TWC available program and services.
In his more recent video, Commissioner Alvarez addressed with TWC Human Resource Director, Jerry White, what individuals can do to better prepare themselves to return to the workforce or to upskill to a brand new career. Have you got a topic suggestion for his next video? Drop it in the comments!
The growth continued in May. Unemployment in Texas continues to decrease, with May (data released in June) marking an unemployment rate of only 6.5%, a decrease of .2% from April 2021. Texas added 34,400 total nonagricultural jobs over the month, making gains in 12 of the last 13 months.
Read more about May’s labor market highlights here.
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