< Previous104 T E X A S E C O N O MI C DE V E L O P M E N T G U I DEHand in hand with workforce development comes the need for development for the workforce — quality, affordable residential property; transit options; strong school systems and career advancement resources. How is the Texas Workforce Commission addressing these issues?Hughs: Working with my fellow Commissioners at THECB and TEA is critical in order to continue to align and develop pathways to experience and employment in a high-wage and high-demand career. We believe that quality child care is connected to workforce development and employment. The TWC provides subsidized child care as a support service to help parents to become and remain employed and contribute to the Texas economy. Making affordable child care available to parents addresses a common barrier to employment. It also enhances parents’ ability to participate in workforce training activities. This year TWC made even greater investments in Texas Rising Star (TRS), the Texas quality rating system for early childhood programs.TWC is currently working on the establishment and implementation of a Workforce Career and Education Outreach Specialist Pilot Program to provide career services to students at public middle and high schools, grades 6-12 in designated regions in Texas. The program will help to ensure students get the exposure and awareness to career resources in High Demand Occupations that will empower them to gain degree certifications, graduate with marketable skills, and have minimal student debt in the future.The 28 Local Workforce Development Boards across Texas are key economic development partners throughout the state of Texas. For example:BorderplexThe Borderplex Workforce Development Board partners with El Paso Community College on various initiatives that lead to industry-recognized certifications funded through the TWC’s Skills Development Fund initiative. The Borderplex Board also hosts bi-monthly economic development partner meetings with the City of El Paso Economic Development Department, El Paso County Economic Development Department, Medical Center of the Americas Foundation, and Borderplex Economic Alliance that provide insight into short-term business attraction and The Texas Workforce Commission is focused on the 60x30TX goal of 60% OF TEXANS AGED 25-34 POSSESSING DEGREES OR CREDENTIALS BY 2030T E X A S E C O N O MI C DE V E L O P M E N T G U I DE 105expansion projects that might require response from the various partners and provide a long-term perspective into the future workforce needs of industries looking to move to or expand in the area. Capital AreaWorkforce Solutions Capital Area, in conjunction with the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and The Graduate! Network, recently launched the “Bridging the Talent Gap” employer survey. Regional employers of all sizes and in all industries were asked to complete the 20- to 30-minute survey to help the Board identify key challenges employers are facing in attracting, retaining and upskilling the talent needed to grow their businesses. Survey responses are helping to inform regional strategies and initiatives to address skill shortages and opportunities, the formation or further development of public-private partnerships in education and workforce development, and the work of the Austin Metro Area Master Community Workforce Plan.Permian BasinThe Permian Basin oil region is the world’s second largest shale oil and gas producer. This has led to a higher cost of living and housing shortage, making it increasingly difficult to attract new workers. The Permian Basin Workforce Development Board provides employers and training institutions with labor market information to identity wage comparisons, training needs, commuting patterns, and future projections and trends in various industries to help plan and support area’s current and future workforce. 106 T E X A S E C O N O MI C DE V E L O P M E N T G U I DEHI G H E R E DU C A T I O NT E X A S E C O N O MI C DE V E L O P M E N T G U I DE 107n early March 2019, just as enthusiasm for the annual college basketball tournament was building, a few high school students, college leaders and commissioners got together in the state capital of Austin for a signing day. Their excitement had nothing to do with athletics, but with the real reasons higher education exists in the first place.The commissioners from the governor’s tri-agency initiative linking the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas Education Agency and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The students were four high schoolers being presented with $2,000 scholarships to Texas Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes sees a state economy and a young workforce rising in unison over the next decade.by ADAM BRUNSIWorking Out theEQUATION108 T E X A S E C O N O MI C DE V E L O P M E N T G U I DEattend Lamar Institute of Technology in order to pursue programs in advanced engine technology, crime scene technician, business and biology. The occasion was the first ever CTE (Career and Technical Education) Signing Day, designed to encourage partnerships and articulation agreements between high schools and community/technical colleges and registered apprenticeship programs. “The U.S. Department of Labor has identified Lamar Institute of Technology (LIT) as being number one in the state of Texas for having student graduates with the highest salary outcomes,” said LIT President Dr. Lonnie Howard. “So, career and technical education has great value and great benefit both in the short term and in the long term. LIT not only produces great students, it produces degrees that work.”Such programs support the state’s 60x30TX strategic plan, created in 2015, that among other goals calls for 60 percent of young adults (25-34) in Texas to hold some type of postsecondary credential by 2030. It also proposes that graduates will have identifiable marketable skills regardless of major, and that students statewide will not graduate with debt exceeding 60 percent of their first-year wages.One of those present at CTE Signing Day was Texas Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes, who in a presentation to legislators later in the month made it known why this next generation is the key to Texas maintaining its global competitiveness:“As one of a handful of states that is growing in its college-age population, Texas expects to produce nearly 100,000 more high school graduates in 2027 than we did in 2008,” he noted. “The youthfulness of our population is one of our greatest assets. How well we educate our children, especially our Latino children, will determine the fate of Texas in the 21st century.”A 30-year veteran of the University of California System as a UCLA English professor and vice chancellor and then special assistant to the system’s president, Paredes has special insight into higher education outreach. In March, he answered a few questions from Texas Economic Development Guide. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board awards Start Awards for exceptional contributions toward meeting one or more of the goals of the 60x30TX plan. Describe how one of last year’s Star Award winners is really making a difference in filling the talent pipeline for employers and helping drive progress toward the 60x30TX goal.Commissioner Raymund Paredes: Over the years there have been many excellent Texas programs to choose from among the Star Award finalists. One that is particularly relevant to “We now have eight Texas public universities designated as Carnegie Tier I Status research institutions — four gained that R1 status in the past several years. No other state can match that progress.”T E X A S E C O N O MI C DE V E L O P M E N T G U I DE 109employers is the 2016 Star Award recipient. Texas A&M University-Commerce was the first of two Texas public higher education institutions to launch the Texas Affordable Baccalaureate (TAB) program, the state’s first competency-based bachelor-level degree from a public institution. Students receive academic credit for prior work or military experience. TAB focuses on mastery of competencies instead of seat time. Course competencies are defined by faculty to meet academic requirements and support the career demands of Texas industries.TAB programs offer a unique, low-cost degree that enables Texas students the opportunity to acquire a high-quality bachelor’s of applied science degree that provides the skills employers have identified as necessary for the 21st century. 2019 marks five years since TAB was launched. Texas now has 12 TAB programs at institutions of higher education across the state. The success of our 60x30TX plan will depend on our ability to deliver high quality education with affordable options like the Texas Affordable Baccalaureate program.Your agency’s accountability system is considered best in class in terms of measuring higher education performance. Do employers find it a useful tool? How would you like to improve it even further?Paredes: The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board accountability website and our recently launched www.60x30TX.com site provide public data on Texas’ 2015-2030 strategic plan for higher education. This plan is a powerful and appropriate response to the changing nature of the U.S. economy and its job market. The plan has four goals. 60x30TX refers to our overarching goal of making sure that 60 percent of our youngest cohort of adults has some form of postsecondary credential — whether a certificate, associate, bachelor’s or master’s degree — by 2030. With the completion goal, we want to increase completions annually, producing 550,000 graduates in the year 2030 — that would be a total of 6.4 million credentials awarded from 2015-2030. We want all our college completers to graduate with marketable skills. And, we want to maintain student debt at current levels. The Coordinating Board’s data websites and our annual Texas Higher Education Almanac provide employers, legislators, the media, and the public with transparency. The Almanac draws from data found in the agency’s accountability system — long recognized as a “best practice” national model for higher education performance data. You are a former professor and leader in the University of California system, heralded by many as the gold standard, in a state that is often the rival of Texas in seeking corporate location investments. What are some unheralded aspects of the Texas higher education system that you think global companies should be aware of? Paredes: One “unheralded” aspect of Texas higher education is its continuing improvement in excellence. By most standards, The University of Texas at Austin is a top 10 public university, and Texas A&M University is not far behind. We now have eight Texas public universities designated as Carnegie Tier I Status research institutions — four gained that R1 status in the past several years. No other state can match that progress. UT Southwestern and M.D. Anderson are two of the finest medical institutions in the world. There is now very high quality public higher education in every region of Texas, a fact of which every large corporation in the U.S. should be aware. T E X A S E C O N O MI C DE V E L O P M E N T G U I DEIn search of the “right t” for college? Look to Texas.by GARY DAUGHTERSn Texas, higher education opens a myriad of possibilities.“The 170 colleges and universities of Texas off er choices for all types of student,” writes collegesimply.com. “In addition to large research universities,” the website reports, “Texas is home to many midsize colleges, small liberal art schools and several notable private colleges and universities.” From massive to micro, urban to rural, pricey to economical, here are some of the most noteworthy colleges and universities in the Lone Star State.Engineering and Science:Texas universities have long been renowned for research related to the state’s iconic oil and gas industry. In addition, The University of Texas–Austin and Texas A&M University-College Station — with about 40,000 and 53,000 undergraduate students, respectively — are among the largest universities in the country. • UT’s Cockrell School of Engineering, part of the school’s Energy Institute, ranks tops in the nation for petroleum engineering, according to drillers.IALL THE ABOVEU NI V E RS I T Y P R OF IL E SWith over 40,000 undergraduate students, The University of Texas is the state’s fl agship for higher education.Photo courtesy University of TexasT E X A S E C O N O MI C DE V E L O P M E N T G U I DE 111com. Offering 100 undergraduate and 170 graduate degrees, the school also ranks highly for accounting, finance, marketing, management, computer science, chemistry and aerospace. • Texas A&M, in 2018, also found a spot in the Top 20 for petroleum engineers, and ranked 19th among all U.S. research universities, by funding, according to a report by the National Science Foundation. The latter ranking was based on total expenditures of more than $905.4 million during fiscal year 2017. “Texas A&M University’s ranking is a reflection of our fearless commitment to solve grand, complex global challenges and make meaningful impacts that advance knowledge,” said Provost and Executive Vice President Carol A. Fierke. “We are pleased to be the only institution in Texas ranked in the Top 10 for research expenditures, and we will continue to pursue high quality research and compete with the nation’s foremost research institutions for grants.”• Having established a school record in 2018 with 38,209 students, Texas Tech, in Lubbock, also ranks highly for petroleum studies. In addition, the university boasts the National Wind Institute, established in 2012, which occupies 56,000 sq.ft. of indoor laboratory space and has a 67-acre research site to study and better understand wind energy and wind hazards mitigation.Private Schools:• Rice University, in Houston, ranks as the top academic institution in Texas, according to U.S. News & World Report. With an undergraduate enrollment of about 4,000, Rice is comprised of eight schools, including the highly-regarded Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business and George R. Brown School of Engineering. Rice also is home to the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, named for the former U.S. Secretary of State.• Southern Methodist University garners third-place in Texas, according to U.S. News. Despite the name, the private school in Dallas with 6,452 students is nonsectarian in its teaching. Interdisciplinary undergraduate programs include programs include human rights, creative computing, environmental sciences and environmental studies. SMU is home to the George W. Bush Presidential Center.• A Baptist school in Waco, Baylor University has an undergraduate enrollment of 14,316. The student body is active in faith-based and service projects, including Urban Missions, which focuses on local community, and Global Missions, which sends students abroad. Baylor’s most popular courses of study include biology, nursing, accounting and marketing.Best Bang for the Buck• Prairie View College, established in 1878, was the first state-supported college for African-American students in Texas. Prairie View hosts eight different schools with programs ranging from agriculture to architecture. Net price: $8,628/year. • Midwestern State University, in Wichita Falls, is ranked by U.S. News as one of the top American universities with the least expensive out-of-state tuition. Net price: $10,172/year. • The University of North Texas, located just north of Dallas, has an undergraduate enrollment of 31,405 and offers 103 bachelor’s programs, 86 masters programs and 3 doctoral programs. Net price: $10,827/year.• The University of Houston has been recognized for studies in entrepreneurship, law and engineering. The school hosts the nation’s first master’s degree in subsea engineering. Net price: $12,618/year. T E X A S E C O N O MI C DE V E L O P M E N T G U I DEE N T R E P R E N E U RS H I P & I N NO V A T I ONhe next time you enjoy snacking on a Snickers Bar, sipping a frozen margarita or doing anything based on the technology of the integrated circuit, you should thank a Texan.All of those creations were invented in Texas, and they are but a few of the Texas-originating innovations we now take for granted. Add to this list the handheld calculator, stadium nachos, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Dell Computers, Fritos, Dr. Pepper, fajitas, Liquid Paper, Barney the Dinosaur, Shiner Beer and 3-D printing, and you begin to comprehend the magnitude of entrepreneurship in the Lone Star State.The good news for companies doing business in Texas is that this unbound spirit of innovation is not just a product of yesteryear; rather, it lives on today and is embodied in the minds and work habits of millions of Texans, and it could become part of your future workforce.According to a new report just released by the Kauff man Foundation, Texas ranks fi h in the country in Early Stage Entrepreneurship, with a score of 1.67. Only California, Missouri, Florida and Wyoming rank higher, and Texas is tied for third with Florida in the percent of population that starts a new business (0.42 percent). Texas also ranks among the nation’s best at the average number of jobs created by startups in their fi rst year of operation, at 5.69, and its startup early survival rate of 79.46 percent ranks by RON STARNERTTexas:Where Startup Fever is ContagiousThe Lone Star State has become the Land of Invention.Jason Taylor Photo courtesy of Code Authority Inc.T E X A S E C O N O MI C DE V E L O P M E N T G U I DE among the best as well.When GOBankingRates recently conducted a study to determine the Best Cities in America to Start a Small Business, it found that Austin ranked No. 1, Dallas checked in at No. 4, and Houston ranked No. 9. WalletHub found similar results when it ranked 2018’s Best Cities to Start a Business. Austin ranked second, Laredo 18th, Fort Worth 20th, Houston 21st and San Antonio 24th.When WalletHub ranked the Best Cities of 2018 for Hispanic Entrepreneurs, it ranked Laredo No. 1 in the country. Other Texas cities to score highly included Amarillo at No. 7, San Antonio at No. 8, Grand Prairie at No. 13, and Irving at No. 17. Fort Worth, El Paso and Austin rounded out the top 20, giving Texas seven of the top 20 performers.Is it Mythology or Methodology?Many experts have tried to explain why Texas is such a fountain of innovation. Some have speculated that entrepreneurship in ingrained into the DNA of Texans since they started out as a self-governing, independent nation. Others have said it has to do with the intense competitive drive required of early pioneer se lers and cowboys. These may all be true, but in modern times, it probably has more to do with the business climate and resources that are aff orded to people who want to be their own boss. The Tax Foundation, for example, rated Texas as having the According to a report by PwC and CB Insights, just four states control 80 percent of all venture capital dollars in America, and Texas is one of them.Jason Taylor and his colleague at Code Authority in Frisco, TexasPhoto courtesy of Code Authority Inc.Next >