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The Inaugural State of the Workforce was a great success. Our partnership with the El Paso Chamber was a great example to the community and to State leaders. Our Chairman, Bobby Blanco, did a fantastic job moderating a very interesting conversation with panelists. We were fortunate to have Brad Turner-Little, CEO of the National Association of Workforce Boards, Niki DaSilva, Senior Director of Policy and Programs at the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Joshua Wright, Executive Vice President of Growth at Lightcast, and Joe Esparza, Commissioner representing employers from Texas Workforce Commission.
We also featured a reverse job fair with 16 job seekers who are enrolled in a training program through WSB. We originally planned for 20 job seekers, but 4 of them obtained jobs before the job fair. This was the only situation we were happy to be canceled on. The other 16 participants received some great leads, and we are optimistic that they will all have job offers soon. We remain in contact with them to support their journey.
Our Forces stood loud and proud, introducing themselves live to the audience. Joint Task Force, NextForce, HerForce, two CareForce, and Business Solutions were represented by actual program participants, a childcare provider, and a digital solutions client. Two of them obtained serious interest on the spot from employers at the luncheon!
My speech featured the great partnerships we have established. Other community agencies approached me and are interested in exploring opportunities with us. The El Paso Times reporter captured all the important points I want the community to know; “we have a good unemployment rate right now but we have a lot of people that need to enter the workforce, and that will require upskilling to make room for them.”
Thank you to all who were able to join us for this event! Together we keep raising the bar and serving this community proudly!
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