FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact:
Doug Peters, President & CEO
325-677-7241
doug@abilenechamber.com
Laurin Kocurek, Vice President
Operations & Communications
325-677-7241
laurin@abilenechamber.com
Abilene Industrial Foundation and Partners Receive Texas Industry Partnership Grant
The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) has awarded a $37,500 Texas Industry Partnership grant to Workforce Solutions of West Central Texas and their partners the Abilene Industrial Foundation (AIF), Abilene Chamber of Commerce, and Development Corporation of Abilene. These grants will benefit workers in the Workforce Solutions of West Central Texas area.
With a match from the Development Corporation of Abilene, this will allow AIF to work with Workforce Solutions of West Central Texas to conduct a cluster analysis of industry sectors to evaluate the labor shed, workforce trends, skill requirements, training availability and the correlation of training to business needs for the area. Information will be shared with K-12, postsecondary and workforce partners to enhance and expand demand-driven training, programs and services for these sectors.
This TWC grant is part of a $1 million statewide effort to support collaborations between Workforce Solutions partners and local economic development entities to create occupational job training programs that will improve the skill sets of individuals for jobs in six designated industry clusters: advanced manufacturing, aerospace, biotechnology, information technology, petroleum refining and energy.
“Everyone wins when local partners combine their resources and use strategic thinking to steer our hard-working citizens towards high-demand careers,” said Representative Stan Lambert of House District 71. “Texas is a top destination to do business and part of that is our ability to ensure our workers have the skills area employers need.”
Through the Texas Industry Partnership program, local workforce development boards can apply for funds from TWC to be matched by local industry partners, while funds are available. For more on this training program, businesses are encouraged to contact their local Workforce Solutions office or visit the Texas Industry Partnership Program webpage.
“The AIF team looks forward to working with our community partners to learn more about Abilene’s labor shed and additional workforce needs,” said Doug Peters, President & CEO of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce. Peters also serves as president of the AIF. “Workforce continues to be the number one challenge our local business community faces and together with community partners, we hope to help discover programs and solutions to ensure the business community is armed with employees they need for success.”
To learn more about the AIF’s workforce initiatives, visit abilenebusiness.com.
About the AIF: The Abilene Industrial Foundation is the Abilene Chamber of Commerce’s private sector representative in the community’s economic development partnership. Along with the City of Abilene and the Development Corporation of Abilene, the AIF works to cultivate the region’s economy through entrepreneurial support, business retention and expansion, downtown redevelopment and workforce development and retention.
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